Moving: A Photo Essay
When You Need to Break Bread with Voters from the Other Side
We’re in that weird space between last week’s election and next week’s day of Thanks. And in that middle space, we’ve all had to face some uncomfortable feelings about our nation, our […]
The Missing Woman
Yes, a headline caught me and reeled me in: “Missing Persons Case Solved! Woman Missing Since 1974 Found Living In Texas.” The article is so short it resists summary, but basically: a […]
The Failure of Work-Life Balance: Why “Having It All Kinda Sucks”
Being a contemporary woman means we should have choices about how to create and utilize our own work-life balance. However, as Amy Westervelt notes, “Here’s the truth: You want to have a career and kids? You totally can, but both will suffer.”
In Praise of Frivolous Things: Christmas Lights in the Dark
It’s December and that means I’m listening to Christmas music, enjoying Christmas decorations and lights, walking through the Christmas displays at my favorite stores. I’m awash in red, green, silver, and gold. […]
HOW TO SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE (Just kidding! How to Survive Thanksgiving With Your Family)
Whether you’re driving or flying, don’t overschedule the amount of time you’ll spend at “home” (which won’t be home for you anymore, but it’ll be home for some of your family and […]
A Sunshine State of Mind, Or, How I Got My Tattoo
As my 30s came to an end I became anxious about this lack of constancy, and blamed it for my husband’s disappearance from my life. “To know who you are,” Carson McCullers once said. “You have to have a place to come from.” How could I expect someone else to know me if I didn’t know myself?
10 WAYS TO PASS THE TIME ON A LONG CAR TRIP WITH YOUR PARENTS AND THREE OLDER SIBLINGS (IN THE 1970s)
Spot license plates from other states. When this gets boring (after 3 minutes), read road signs out loud, at top volume, until your dad says his patented, “The next kid who says […]
November: Travel & Family
It’s November, that month of prelude. At the end of this month the holidays will be upon us, to be repeated next month. And what do many of us do for the […]
Note From a Dog’s “Mom”
When Susan Lilley asked me if I had anything to post on Mother’s Day, I thought about pieces I’ve written about having a miscarriage, having and being a stepmother, parenting my own daughter, […]