Technology trauma Yesterday was rough. Very rough. It took more than five hours to write simply, about simplicity. What’s not to love about that? And I struggled through those hours, trying to avoid a total emotional meltdown due to a serious software snafu beyond my control. I persisted; stubbornness can be an asset. I wrote […]
I have my own planet. (Can’t I just stay here?)
Women in the baby blur You know that blur that occurs after (most) women have babies? And they don’t have nannies to help, or nearby family stepping in on a regular basis, or maybe they do, but the reality of the days and nights is a growing fuzziness, a stream of sleeplessness and round-the-clock activity? […]
Parenting Tips (and Burst my Bubble)
Parenting rocks. Parenting sucks. Parenting rocks. There are great sources of information out there. And terrible sources of information out there. There are great sources of information out there. When it comes to parenting (mothering in particular), we are our own worst enemies. We are also – potentially – our greatest cheerleaders and sources of […]
The restorative powers of sleep. (Not.)
Sleep, with all its remarkable restorative powers – to renew, to recharge, to dream. Then we wake refreshed, and begin a new day. No. There are no restorative powers of sleep for me, only restless legs, flailing about, waking repeatedly, disturbing dreams. The morning. Too soon. A knock on my door. It is not yet […]
US Open's Oudin: Gotta give it to grit!
It’s Saturday afternoon. US Open, and I’m as glued to my TV as I’ve been in a long time! Melanie Oudin, the feisty 17-year old from Marietta, Georgia, just took the second set 6-4 after a couple of grueling games. This is US Open as we love it – two tough competitors, and a youngster with […]
What do we build?
My 17-year old was bent over the patio table outside, with two friends, well after midnight. Nothing unusual in that – they joke around, they eat and drink. Mostly, they chat and listen to music, sometimes gathered around a laptop. Surprise, surprise Last night I was curious. I wanted to know what they were doing, […]
Cruise Control
It’s drizzling, and still only half light, 6:00 a.m. I need to shower and dress, to drink the first cup of coffee. Dreams are drifting in and out: old friends, improbable scenarios, places I’ve never seen that are vaguely European. The dog is sleeping, stretched on the floor next to my bed. I hear her […]
Pas de nouvelles, bonnes nouvelles? Not always.
“Pas de nouvelles… bonnes nouvelles, comme dit le proverbe.” No news is good news, as the proverb says. But is the proverb true? Or is no news just… no news? No news is no news In the case of an overseas friend who hadn’t written or called in awhile, it was true. Tout allait bien; […]