Birthday surprise
Surprised. That’s how I look in my new driver’s license picture. I laughed when the woman at the DMV handed me the new card because that happy yet slightly startled look on my face is…
18 hours to go
Eighteen hours. That’s how long it took to drive to the happiest place on Earth. Do you know how much you have to love your kids in order to drive 18 hours so they can…
Dishes and Dollars
As appliances are known to do, my dishwasher quit working on a holiday. Maybe it decided that humans aren’t the only ones who need a few days off work. It ran its last load of…
Color me happy
As soon as I spotted it at the bookstore last week, I wanted to slap my forehead and say, “Of course! Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?” I rushed my copy of the “Zen…
Why I Don’t Like January
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 Even though there’s something comforting about getting back into a normal routine after a hectic holiday period, I don’t like January. It’s the one month of…
South Meets North
It pains me to say this, but it’s true: The people who live up North are tougher. There, I said it. It’s hard to admit because my husband Tom grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, and…
Fed Up
By Gwen Rockwood During the drive to school this morning, I turned down the radio when another political ad came on. “Ugh! At least today is the last day we’ll have to put up with…
Picture This
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 I felt it as soon as I woke up this morning – that familiar pang of dread in the pit of my stomach that can only…
Procrastination: Shoulda Woulda Coulda
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 Like most writers, I have a dance partner whose name is Procrastination. I hate his guts. What a slacker. And yet we keep on dancing. We…
Who’s afraid of the big “bag” wolf?
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 Last night I let our Beagle Charlie out into the backyard for his usual “last call” potty break before going to bed for the night. I…