The Earth shakes so violently that it shifts on its axis. Once again people scramble into the streets, leaving behind the remnants of home.  The photographs and the family heirlooms buried deep beneath piles of rubble.  The crayon drawings, once presented so proudly, now b… Read full post »

When I was 9, if someone had asked, “Do you feel loved?” 

I would have answered, “Yes.” 

Tip-toe love.

Impatient lov… Read full post »

Poor Curling - it's the punching bag of the Winter Olympics.  It's the sport people love to make fun of,… Read full post »

Do you ever wonder how Olympic dreams are born? 

Sometimes, they are born out of fancy training centers, pricey coaches, and high tech equipment.  Sometimes, they are born in backyards, by kids dressed in h… Read full post »

So there we were, my husband and I, watching the Super Bowl.

Surrounded by a giant bowl of chips and bottles of Bell’s Brown Ale. 

Trying to recover from the spectacle that was Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend pretending that they are still virile rock stars. 

Hop… Read full post »

Last night, I read a great post by MoniqueC titled Red Lentils.   I love her writing style. I don't remember ever reading one of h… Read full post »

Tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, our 11 year-old son will report to the school cafeteria, calculator and middle school ID in hand. He&rsqu… Read full post »

This morning, I was reading froggy's post about her wish that her daughter could hold on to the imaginary world where she often lives.  It's a beautiful piece and reminded me so much of my own daughter, Alice.

Alice is seven, a little elf of a girl.  It's hard to describe h… Read full post »

There are two things you need to know before I get started. 

1)      The last time I wore lipstick out of the house, I wa… Read full post »

Good morning, Dad.   

It’s amazing how quiet it is after they all leave the house, isn’t it?… Read full post »

She hadn’t been home for more than an hour when I heard the clink, clink, clink from her kitchen. Dishes being rearranged.  Reclaiming the space I had kept safe for her. Everything back just where it belonged.  No pause for a thank you. 

Clink, clink, clink. 

I didn'… Read full post »

                                      &nbs… Read full post »

                       … Read full post »

Dear Melissa, 

It’s your 4^th birthday today.  What good luck that Mrs. Picke… Read full post »

About fifteen parents sat gossiping around miniature tables in the elementary school library the other night, waiting for the volunteer committee meeting to begin.  On the agenda were hot topics like the Holiday Shop and the Literacy Festival but, looming ominously at the top, was somethi… Read full post »

Will Someone Feed The Cat is feeling a little down today because of one stray whisker that has taken up residence on her upper lip.  I thought the following portrait of one of my great, great relatives on my mom's side of the family might help her put things into… Read full post »

I am drawn to the spot where it happened. It’s been almost 15 years but I can still see our footprints.  I can still hear the echoes.  I can close m… Read full post »

My mom has graciously agreed, in honor of her new bond with the sisterhood of Pirate wimmen, to open her sacred closet full of 1950's pencil heeled, pointed toed shoes of torture.

Cabin boys may stake their claim but please be warned, the price will be determined by th… Read full post »

In the next hour or so, I'm going to bundle up my flu-riddled 6 year old, covering her face with her favorite soft and cozy scarf, and I'm heading down to the community center in our tiny township. 

 My polling place.

I'm going to cast my vote in our… Read full post »

                               &nb… Read full post »

We’re sitting in the sand, watching our daughters play together in the waves. We reflect proudly about how much their water skills have progressed in the four summers we’ve spent together.  We share swimming lesson stories and laugh as the girls play mermaids and try to c… Read full post »

I first began noticing it last spring at the fifth grade graduation.  It felt like it had happened overnight. All those little girls who had been in my son’s second grade reading group were suddenly sprouting boobs.  It seemed to be part of a right of passage, as if these… Read full post »

 I am an admitted shelfaholic.  I will never have enough.  When I started peeking at everyone else's shelves, I knew it was only a matter of time before I gave in and shared my own.

I come from a family where almost everything is considered some kind of treasure.  Thus, a… Read full post »

Won’t you join me for just a minute?  Let’s leave behind the debates about health care, and racism, and… Read full post »

At 6:45 this morning, I watched my son board the bus for his first day of middle school.  The heads of the other passen… Read full post »