That Mothering Job. Not so simple…
My Teacher Calls Me Sweetheart
I remember his name. I would never say it here. That is a function of appropriate behavior, which I hope I exercise, and I know – he did not. My teacher would call me sweetheart; worse, it was the way he looked at me, and then came too close. The way he touched, or did […]
Zoom
We zoom in to enlarge the font on our computer screens. We zoom in to find our homes on Google Earth. We zoom the view on our cameras; then we tweak our images to improve the picture. What’s a few pixels among friends, right? We zoom to aid exploration and discovery, with our telescopes and […]
Jealousy
Are you the jealous type?
Calling for the Tow Truck
“You have an idea parked in your head now,” he murmured. And he was right. It was one of those perfectly reasonable and measured conversations, romantic even, that had taken a strange and unanticipated turn. What he intended as simple disclosure of something in the past triggered a surprising chain reaction. In me. It was […]
No Turning Back
When I first read this article on why keeping your options open is less satisfying than making irreversible decisions, I was shaking my head. No, no, and no. I’m good at decision-making, yet I love having alternatives, not to mention contingency plans. But I persisted with the article (despite my own resistance), and like its […]
What Would You Become?
I wanted to be a dancer, an artist, a fashion designer. More than anything, I aspired to become a writer. I imagined that I might try on each of these roles and perhaps even simultaneously. When I was young, like the rest of us, I wove my futures from child-like fabric without knowledge of complexities, […]
At Loose Ends
Perhaps it’s the same for marathoners. For recent college graduates. For prize winners of any sort. I distinctly remember feeling this way twenty years ago, in the days and weeks following my wedding. Months of planning and effort had yielded the desired outcome and after the excitement, the commotion, and the relief of having gotten […]
730 Reasons
The coffee is hot. Black. Strong. 12 reasons that’s exactly how I’m determined to drink it. More shoes than I care to count – and 22 reasons I adore them all the same. 1800 books (at least) – and 16 reasons I wouldn’t have it any other way. 300 gray hairs (an estimate) – and […]
Cutting the Cord
As an adult child of divorce, at times I wish my marriage had survived until my sons were grown. I imagine they would have been spared pain. Then again, knowing what I know now, I believe they will be better off in the long run because it was I who raised them. My own parents divorced after 30 […]