My Old School OK, I’m having a mom conundrum. This particular issue spins around and around in my brain like a crazy dog endlessly chasing its tail. Sometimes it keeps me up nights. It’s certainly caused some considerable drama in our household over the past few years. In the big picture scheme of it all, I’m not even sure if all my fuss and worry is warranted. The issue I’m talking about is education. We have a struggle on our…
Yesterday, the teen animal and I went down to the tattoo parlor and got inked up. Two bodies. One design. It was a bone cold afternoon and I was on the verge of despondency over the Seahawk’s loss to the Falcons. An outing with Emmett was the perfect thing–perhaps even the only thing–that could pull me out of my downward, post-game spiral. The idea to get tattoos together was Emmett’s. He threw it at me one night while we were having dinner in Chinatown.…
Today is my youngest son’s 15th birthday. Enzo was originally due on Halloween. However, potentially serious complications came up and the wise decision was made to deliver him early via C-section. Fifteen years ago today, I was getting ready for my trip to the hospital. Bags were packed. My older son Emmett was set to spend the night with friends. My husband Charlie was off from work. My best friend Lisa was driving up from Portland. At that time, I didn’t know the gender…
My guiding principle in creating this blog is authenticity and I always write from a place of openness and honesty. But every now and then, I wrestle with the conundrum of vulnerability and the simple question of whether or not to post about some of the more tender aspects of my humanity. Such is the case with this post. In the process of chewing this over, I reread a few older posts that I’d written, in particular, one on inspiration. I’m reminded that the artists…
My son came out to me in the form of a text. I was working on my computer late one night last September. Enzo was staying at his dad’s house that particular evening. I had my nose deep into something I was writing when his text came in. The text, which was sent to both his father and me, was succinct, yet in my mind, absolutely beautiful. It said, “I’m gay. But I’m also very tired, so I’m going to bed. We can talk…
Everything came to a screeching halt. On Wednesday afternoon, I received the news that my son Emmett’s best friend had been in a horrific accident. As he was riding his bicycle to work, he collided with a van. He suffered massive brain injuries and underwent emergency surgery at Harborview, where he now floats in a coma in the intensive care unit. On this particular day, my wonderful city was already in the grips of sorrow and shock over the senseless shootings that took the lives…
There was quite a flap last week over Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen’s remarks about Mitt Romney’s wife Ann. In case you missed it, here’s what she said: “What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, ‘Well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues, and when I listen to my wife, that’s what I’m hearing.’ Guess what? His wife has never actually worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the kinds…
Last night, the Garfield High Jazz Band played its annual “Farewell to Seniors” concert. My son Emmett is among the 20 musicians who are graduating from high school (tomorrow night-yikes) and leaving this amazing program. As I sat in the Quincy Jones Performing Arts Center, I was flooded with an odd mix of melancholy, pride and satisfaction. It almost feels like waking up from a beautiful dream. As I write this today, I seem to…
My 13 year-old son is gaga over Lady Gaga. Sadly, this has caused some divisiveness within the family. I guess Enzo started getting into Lady Gaga last fall. I noticed her coming up on his i-Pod on the mornings I drove the carpool to his school. At the time, my feelings about Lady Gaga were pretty benign. She was simply just another pop icon, far-removed from my own musical landscape. Until Enzo started playing her in the car, I probably couldn’t have identified even one…
