Pandemic padding gets uncomfortable
Something uncomfortable happened after Christmas. It has taken me several weeks to admit it because I already know how it’ll make me sound – shallow, silly, vain. But I’m going to say it because experience…
Sweet six in time for Valentine’s Day
The sky is blue, the snow has melted, and the Covid home tests are once again negative. Hallelujah! My family and I have thankfully recovered from the virus, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The…
Reporting from the Covid cave
Part of me felt like a failure. For nearly two years straight, I tried to make sure it didn’t get us. And then it got us. For a nerd who always wants to do well…
7 not-so-simple rules for parenting teens
Since our oldest son turned 20 last month, I’ve technically completed what’s often called the terrible teens for at least one of our three kids. For the record, it wasn’t terrible. But it was, shall…
Evolution of a home
There’s good news here at home. Those two gaping holes in the side of our house have been plugged with new living room windows, just in time for January’s cold snap. We keep doing a…
Where’s everything? Mama needs a backup for her brain
Do you remember the Where’s Waldo books popular in the late 80s? I had one when I was 14 and found it fun but maddening at the same time. Just in case you were doing…
Reindeer games
Earlier this week my kids beat me at poker. No money changed hands, other than those colored plastic chips. But the bragging rights will last a while, at least until next year around this time.…
Dear Santa, I need an elf
Dear Santa, Don’t take this the wrong way. You know I love you. But what I need right now is not new things. It’s help. And correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you have…
His first solo birthday
When I woke up this morning, I had one thought circling in my head: “My kid is 20. He’s 20! I am the mother of a human who is 20. How did this happen? Wasn’t…
A Thanksgiving experiment
This morning I took the dogs out and noticed a distinct change from yesterday. The leaves, which had been falling in an occasional sprinkle, have now ramped up to a steady shower. One of the…