As a Christian (baptized Greek Orthodox, raised Episcopalian, and briefly evangelical for a time in my “young and stooped” years, but I digress…), I find the First Amendment comforting:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free ex… Read full post »

Judge not lest ye be judged…for the measure you give shall be the measure you get.  -- Matthew 7:1 & 2

We’ve all heard it.  At one point or another, you may have even said it. To call someone “judgmental” is usually deemed as an insult.  Yet we make/… Read full post »

Michelle Obama finds herself in the midst of a very public “makeover,” one that many have rightly commented demonstrates the unfair lens through which we view the women who aspire to being First Lady.  There is this insidious notion that a First Lady should be some sort of paragon/… Read full post »

Today, my son ate a single slice of boiled hot dog.

I have been waiting for this moment for months.  So much therapy, time, agony, attention, care, and effort have led to this.  I called my husband and gleefully shouted the news to him.  If my son had won… Read full post »

Parents, in one way or another,  always bring all of their life experience to bear when they parent.  That my time as a volunteer in a major aquarium should have taught me some things about parenting ought to therefore come as no surprise.

When Amy Sutherland penned "What Shamu… Read full post »

My father never really knew his father.  By the time that he was five years old, he had lost both of his parents.  He was raised by an aunt and uncle on the south side of Chicago, in a none-too-luxe apartment over a bakery. 

 When he was 18,… Read full post »

In the wake of Obama's primary win, there's been a lot of talk about Clinton voters who are switching to McCain.  There hasn't been a whole lot of statistical measurement of exactly how many there are, but disappointed Clintonians (a term I'm using largely to prevent having to use… Read full post »

To say that having a child changes things is rougly the same thing as saying Mount Rushmore is kinda big.

The light of my life was born three years ago.

I wasn't always a mom, though now that I've been one for three years, it feels as if I have been one for… Read full post »

I decided perhaps we needed to take a break from the Obama-Clinton thing and focus on the real opponent.....

Unlike a lot of people, I am optimistic about November.  I think the Obama team has shown themselves to be smart and capable at running a campaign.  And McCain has… Read full post »

Aw, what the heck, I'm feeling a little like a lemming....

Ten extra points to anyone who can provide the reference for the title above, BTW.

 1) I grew up racing sailboats.  Big ones.  Some dads took their kids to the backyard to play catch.  My dad took us… Read full post »

I want to address something here....the notion that somehow Obama is a poor candidate because he did not produce some sort of overwhelming tide of victories and receive a "coronation" as the Democratic nominee.  The fact of the matter is, Clinton didn't either, despite the fact that for months… Read full post »

Neighborhoods are interesting things.  A certain culture arises around them.  Sometimes the neighbors hang out as neighbors, sometimes they don't.  Some neighborhoods have block parties, or neighborhood watches, or book clubs.  And there are characters -- the guy who's neurotic… Read full post »

Around January, I had given money to the Clinton campaign.  I had my reservations, but after long and hard thought, I cast my lot.  A lot changed in the last few months.  Today, I replied to Clinton's most recent email pitch to me as follows: