My son was two years old when my mother-in-law told me that all the sex education he’d ever need was happening in her backyard.  It wasn’t what the mother of a toddler wants to hear, but my son is twenty-four now and the intimate relationships in… Read full post »

I wasn't going to respond to this Open Call, because Nora Ephron meant too much to me.  I'm a freelance writer, but I never aspired to be Nora; no one can be Nora or come even close.  She was a genius.  I was quietly, deeply in awe of her, and her… Read full post »

I’m breathing a huge sigh of relief out here in California.  My husband and I have been waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision, wondering if our son, Sean, would continue to be covered under our insurance plan until age twenty-six.  We need that additional five… Read full post »

They're gone now.  Two majestic, towering firs that were situated in the corner of a yard three doors down and part of the background of California oaks and evergreens that gives our neighborhood its woodsy feel.  Trees that were a refuge for woodpeckers, songbirds and even the occasional h… Read full post »

My nephew, Tom, took one look at the photograph I'd handed him and burst out laughing. His wife was eating her lunch at the opposite end of the table and waited to see what was so funny. The sight of a girl in a halter-top had surely never elicited this… Read full post »

In 2005 The San Francisco Chronicle published my essay about a praying mantis egg sac that "hatched" on my patio one summer day. Although it's obviously dated, as evidenced  by what I note was going on in the world at the time, I thought it might make for a good post… Read full post »

My opinion that Nirvana isn’t appropriate music for a pre-kindergarten class ignited an argument three thousand miles away.  I’m an instructional aide in an elementary school in California, and I’d related to my Virginia cousin, Karen, via Facebook, how appalled I was when the… Read full post »

When my favorite radio station recently switched from a classical music format to jazz during their 7 to 11 pm weekdays slot, I gave it a try.  I prefer Bach, Beethoven or the Buffalo Guitar Quartet while decompressing in the evening with a glass of wine, but I’m a long-time supporter… Read full post »

Somebody once said, “The past is a good place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there”, and I usually swear by those words when it comes to any clutter reduction involving sentiment.  For years I’ve ignored about ten boxes of my two sons’ sc… Read full post »

Borrow a set of bunk beds from a relative whose… Read full post »

It’s not front page news – the Occupy efforts, Rick Perry’s debate flubs and Black Friday “pushed up a day early” are the topics of the day – but the Western black rhino of Africa has been officially declared extinct. 

The announcement was made by The I… Read full post »

A version of this essay appeared in the Home & Garden section of The San Francisco Chronicle in 2004.  This version is revised and updated.  

Every November, right before the holidays, I revisit the literary journey that began with Dr. Seuss, progressed t… Read full post »

The first time my brother ran away from home he was sixteen, and now he’s done it again, only this time he’s packing a pistol.  Never mind that fifty years have passed since his first great escape, or that he acquired a wife, kids and grandchildren an… Read full post »

When I was considering adopting a shelter dog, my dog owner friends gave me a collective thumbs-up.  In fact, they raved about their dogs as though they were a therapy solution to relationship problems.  My hairdresser repeated the words “unconditional love” like a mantra. … Read full post »

My 20-year-old son carries his pancreas around in his pocket.  If you saw him holding it you’d probably think it was a smart phone and he was texting a friend.  But then you’d notice the long thin tubing that connects the gadget to his stomach. 

Sean was sixteen when the… Read full post »