Aren’t we a culture that professes to value individuals? A society that goes wild over the stand-out: exceptional performance, particular charm, something – anything – distinctive? And don’t we oo and ah over beauty? And yet. The distinctions we seek – in professions and in personal style – are increasingly conventional. As for beauty, who […]
End of the Year Clearance on Complaint Monday!
You’re sitting in your office trying to make peace with your inner pout. You’re trying to remember where you put the last of the Christmas cards. You’ve got to jam just one or two more holiday errands into the lunch hour. OHMYGOD will you remember to tip the mail carrier and the mechanic and the […]
48 Hours
48 hours. Well, technically, it’s been less. But in the past two days, we’ve had some of my true drug of choice: sleep. My son has scored some serious snooze time, and I’ve racked up more zzzzs than usual, though I’m staring at a pretty depleted well after our marathon of days and nights this […]
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 […]
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 […]
Ghosts, Goblins, and Ghouls
This week, Gale at Ten Dollar Thoughts wrote about the division of responsibilities among couples – how the lines are drawn when it comes to bringing home the bacon, household chores, childcare, cooking, yard work, and more. As a long-time single parent, my view of domestic duties operates from a different perspective. I’ve raised my […]
Woman to wed… herself
How could I pass up this little nugget? It’s a news item plucked from msnbc.com concerning a Taiwanese woman who is apparently planning an unusual wedding next month. Her spouse-to-be? Herself. While Chen Wei-yih cannot marry herself legally, she intends to do so symbolically – right down to the wedding dress, the wedding planner, the […]
Fresh Eggs: 1 Mile
Nudging my kid, shaking my kid, waking my kid. As usual. Making the lunch, brewing the coffee, rushing to get a jump on my writing. As usual. My laptop flipped open, and ready to rock. As usual. Flipped open… and nothing. “Do backups,” said the adult voice. That was last night, about 12:30, as I […]
Timing is everything
Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking… Trying to wake the kid. Rushing to get his lunch made. Hoping the car will start. Scrambling to get things done hours earlier than usual, and “usual” is pretty damn early. Crossing my fingers that I make it to the dealership. Pleading for no traffic. Counting on that loaner. […]
Silence is Golden, Sort Of
No need to dress. No need to drive. No need to cook – heating a frozen dinner in the microwave was just fine. And not one word. No need to speak at all, for 36 hours. Bliss. Yesterday was my first day off in two months. No parenting, no worrying, no checking a clock or […]