Dealing with dread
August has baggage. And I’m not just talking about the oppressive heat and the swamp-level humidity. The month begins with the last dregs of summer and ends with an espresso shot of back-to-school busyness. If…
A computer’s close call
There’s an easy way to tell whether or not you have an unhealthy attachment to your computer: How do you react when it might be broken? It happened to me last week, so the feelings…
How mama got her snooze back
I wish I’d known years ago that my ability to sleep well might have an expiration date. I used to be so good at it. In those early years, I could drop off within minutes,…
The topic that triggers an angry inbox
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 Sometimes, I get angry emails. It doesn’t happen often, which is good because I don’t try to inspire irritation. But when you write for the public…
My brother, the bottle rocket
My older brother was one of those guys — a fireworks guy. Do you know one? A guy who loves fireworks so much that the 4th of July becomes more like Christmas — the most…
The true story of Stink and Stank
One of my dad’s favorite television shows was Sanford & Son, which aired through most of the 1970s. I was a little kid then, but what I remember most about the show, other than its…
Tears, fears and duct tape
As a new parent, everyone braces you for how challenging the newborn phase will be. They make jokes about sleeping while you can because once the baby shows up, you’ll be up around the clock…
Sometimes karma is lovely
A few weeks ago, we had this short but wonderful pocket of time right before our oldest son’s college graduation. For four days, we had all three of our big kids home. After graduation, two…
Blank beauty
The children are afraid. Terrified, in fact. But you’d never know it by looking at them because they’re too scared to move a muscle, especially the ones around their eyes. What are they so afraid…
One year after the tornado
A year ago, a tornado hop-scotched through our town. It was past midnight, and I was watching a movie at home with our teenagers. When our phones screamed a long, loud beep, we switched to…