Sometimes we surprise ourselves. Who would have thought that physical fatigue and mental acuity could coexist – comfortably? Or do we simply adjust to being tired as a way of life, and enjoy those times when our minds (or emotions) are humming along just fine no matter what? Like most parents, I’m tired. And for […]
Eggs. Baskets. Now what?
Here’s your task. You’re in a big room. It’s filled with the usual – chairs, tables, lamps, books. Your mission? Get from one side to the other and back again, carrying a dozen eggs, in or out of their carton. You have your choice of two baskets, along with bubble wrap and a few other […]
Free Love
Any late sixties values we might still want to practice? Free Love?
Backups
We’ve experienced our share of nasty computer issues this past year; recovery was slow and expensive – money I could ill afford. But given that I make my way through life tap-tapping on a keyboard, and my kid needed to finish out his high school years tap-tapping as well, costly or not, fixing and replacing […]
Top 10 Reasons My Teens ROCK!
My teens? The best on the planet, naturally. One is a bit of a world wanderer – give him a backpack and a cheap ticket to Europe, and he’s a happy camper. A little factory work, a little office work, a few music festivals… and plenty of adventure, some of which he tells me about, […]
Playing by the Rules
I find myself sitting in traffic. It’s a dangerous intersection of off-ramps and commercial roadways, with a confusing tangle of turns and lights. But it’s past rush hour and before lunch. Not too bad, I think. I’ll make it through in five or six minutes. Most of the drivers are waiting patiently. Inching forward as […]
Particle Physics
We’ve been staying up until all hours, often working side by side. On the couch. Or he’s on the couch and I’m in an adjoining room plopped in a chair, plugging away on my laptop. He watches me scowl in exasperation, shuffle through stacks of pages, then tap furiously on my keyboard for a long […]
Semantic Issues
Pens, pencils, textbooks. The computer. Dirty dishes. It’s all heaped on the edge of the couch and the small ottoman next to his long limbs. He’s twisted up in an old comforter, and out cold. I touch his arm and he opens his eyes. “I don’t need to print this morning,” he murmurs, and turns […]
Dead Uncle
I do a double-take. He looks so familiar, but I can’t place him. Fifty-something. Wild curly hair. Animated and grinning. Given that I’m already miffed – and rushed – I let it go, continuing to my car. “Miserable morning,” I mutter to myself, adjusting the heating pad beneath the backs of my legs. Turning over […]
Spinning Your Wheels
There are times your goal is visible, and it seems, just out of reach. If I can push myself a little longer, you think, and so you do. You push. Hard. You develop a habit of pushing yourself that becomes the routine of your mornings and your afternoons, the standard transition into night’s long hours, […]