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 […]
The Zone
Your kid’s eyes are glazed over because it’s after three a.m. and he’s still working, and your eyes are glazed over because it’s after three a.m. and you’re still working, and while you’re the mother you remember being the kid – hanging on with everything you’ve got to pull it out at the end of […]
Deep Freeze
“I know, I know. I look like a bag lady,” I said. He laughed. “More like an older student.” I pursed my lips and furrowed my brow in exaggerated irritation. “That was both kindly and mean,” I retorted, happy enough to run into an old friend, and not so much, looking haggard, ragged and a […]
Bah Humbug. NOT.
At last. I’m beginning to feel a bit of seasonal cheer. It might have something to do with frigid temperatures the past few days. Single digits with the wind chill and oh, but I could go for a walk on a Mediterranean beach about now! Still, when it’s December, flurries and the bluster of wintry […]
Pampering
I wouldn’t say I was a “girly girl” exactly. I’m strong. I’m opinionated. But I love the differences between men and women. Perhaps it is my years in France. Perhaps I should own up to a few girly girl tendencies all the same. But I’ve fallen behind. Way behind – in everything that enables me […]
Paper
Yesterday began maliciously: my laptop’s functioning ground to a near halt. Everything from word documents to image files to internet access was stalled. Nightmare. I spent a considerable chunk of the day running scans and updates, dealing with the frustration of not having what I needed on the backup computer. So I resorted to paper. […]
Cynical, skeptical, or cautious?
We had both been waiting at the hospital for three hours. She’s a registered nurse, and was even more annoyed than I was. “I don’t know what could be taking so long for a few simple tests,” she says. “A little blood work and the basics. This is a woman’s clinic now.” I am sitting […]
Monday Morning Moments
After a really lousy few days, there’s nothing like a different sort of reality check. For example, everything that could have gone wrong that didn’t. On a Monday! For example: My computer didn’t crash. My car started despite the cold. I got the kid to school on time. His painting project is going well. I […]
When’s the last time you had fun?
“What do you do for fun?” he asked. I was taken aback. Really taken aback. I don’t remember the last time anyone posed that question. And it’s not unreasonable, when you’re just getting to know someone. The context? A phone call – a friend of a friend sort of thing – and all very pleasant. […]