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, […]
IVF, Older Mothers, Emma Thompson, Aging Out
Howard’s End was on the tube last evening – a film I love, among other things, for two of my favorite British actors. Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. Released in 1992, we see a lovely Thompson at age 33, and Hopkins, then 55. But I was bothered that I hadn’t seen her in many films […]
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 […]
Monday Morning Complaint Department: Grand Reopening!
Come on. Admit it. You’re happy for the opportunity to vent. Freely. To bitch a little. Or maybe a lot. To know it’s okay. But first, a digression. I was wondering about those who complain frequently. I pondered the moaning-groaning personality type – if it’s a personality issue – and what it takes to reinforce […]
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 […]
No coasting, no toasting. (How to survive chronic lateness.)
I could swear Kim Zolciak was singing Tardy for the Party in my dream. Or was it just the alarm? That horrible tinny pop music that my kid uses to wake him? Only it never wakes him. Me? Another story. So I start the morning routine. Yawning. My eyes burning. Coffee. Even the aroma helps. […]
Endings, Beginnings, and Everything in Between
My propensity for nostalgia hits full swing in Autumn. October in particular seems to activate a melancholic side; the season’s fragile cusp between warmth and chill, between light and dark. I am moodier. I am reminded of endings. Then I give myself a good swift kick, and remember that for every ending, there is a […]
Marriage Minded Men!
It works every time. Ten tips for this. Ten things you don’t know. It gets your attention, doesn’t it? Yesterday I came across 10 Things a Man Should Know About Marriage. The fact that this series of snippets was directed at men? That made it even more irresistible – advice offered to guide the guys […]
Dear Mathew Weiner… Please Give Us More Betty
Dear Matt Weiner, Yes, we know it’s Mad Men, but you’ve given us much to savor in the women, except for one. Exactly. Betty Draper Francis. Sure, we fell for her charm and beauty in the beginning. Perfect for the Kennedy era Camelot. Typical of the Alfred Hitchcock heroine. We tolerated her cool, and at […]