Some days I am haunted by the “for richer or poorer, sickness and health” dichotomies of the marriage vow. Some days the good to bad range extends to unreasonable expectations. This was one of those days. “So let me get this straight. You wear a red vinyl penis on the outside of your clothes, use a walker […]
Author Archive
Stay gold, Ponyboy
This week I stayed with a friend’s daughter while she started her first day of high school and her parents dropped her brother off at college. I had a wonderful time as acting auntie, a role I don’t get to play very often. We also have a lot in common which means we chatted and laughed […]
Offset tally
I have been cranky this summer. Too much heat, work, and ridiculous politics. Not enough rest, reading, and picnics. I find myself replaying yesterday’s bad mood or anticipating a snow day in some relaxing future. It is easy to get preoccupied backwards and forwards, the present seems a jam packed to-list and those people that when […]
I just sew
Every quilt I complete and give away annoys her. “When do I get mine?” she asks in that tone that already knows the answer. “I just haven’t found the right pattern.” I just haven’t found the right colors.” I just haven’t found the right inspiration.” I can’t use time as an excuse because I figure […]
Died and gone to Valhalla
Today I join with my fellow comic book fanboys and fangirls in celebrating the highly anticipated opening of The Avengers or as Flixter User Reviewer Flutie Archibald called it: “. . . THE BEST MOVIE I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!” Six super heroes, two secret agents and one seriously cool villain (I have had a “thing” for Loki […]
A process, an end, a beginning
The college search and decision process represents, for some kids, a significant threshold. They begin to move from the present emotion of adolescence to the future rationale of adulthood. They have to consider their own identity in an attempt to find a cultural and academic match. They must take a sobering account of their performance and […]
Pinned
As a kid, I saved Cracker Jack wrappers and vintage glass insulators from the tops of telephone poles. As an adult, my house is littered with baskets of Cape Cod sea shells, fabric from every quilt store east of the Mississippi, a Big Gulp cup full of wine corks with “cool branding,” a shelf of […]
Holding out for a hero
When I was in sixth grade, the teacher gave us a writing assignment. “Write about one of your heroes,” she said. As my classmates immediately thought of firemen, their grandma or Jesus, I had to ponder my options. Joan of Arc? Harriet Tubman? Louis Braille? Superman? Athena? Woody Guthrie? Teresa of Ávila? The list was […]
Stuff and story
There is always a moment when the holiday season kicks in: the first fluffy snowfall, the first decorations on sale in September, the Macy’s Parade, the smell of baking spices wafting through the house. With respectful acknowledgement that celebrations and interests vary, our family loves Christmas time and it begins when we bring the first […]
Happy birthday to me, I mean you
The alarm went off at 5:00 am last Tuesday, but I was already awake. I had been lying there wondering if I could still cut one last rose this season to put in a bud vase. I got up with atypical morning energy and began the planned preparations. Over the next hour and a half […]
