My great-grandmother, Jeannette, was born in 1902 and her life would span most of the 20th century. She would see advancements in her lifetime that were unheard of at the time of her birth.
Still her life, like any, would not always be easy. Tragically, she would lose her mother to tuberculosis as a child. […]
Twilight movie mega-star Robert Pattinson, asked about his equally famous hair, revealed, “I don’t have much of a sense of personal hygiene or styling … I gave up washing it a while back.”
If I could bend the ear of almost any young Hollywood hunk, I wouldn’t waste my time on mundane issues like asking for […]
My son, at 12, is no longer a willing wearer of a pointy party hat. He has no need for noisemakers. No yen for a piñata. We gave up goodie bags a few years ago, too.
Gave up on games
I gave up trying to plan party games when I realized I was pulling kids away […]
I am a nice person. I get through most days fairly happy and not generally spoiling for a fight. I just want that on the record.
Still, there are simply times when a person has just had enough. Lately, I’ve become aware that there are a few folks who could be helped by a primer […]
Our son, at 12, is back from the wild. He has returned from a week at Boy Scout camp. He went off with big plans, a big grin and a “Class A” uniform thrown over his shoulder. I waved good-bye until the van was just a dot in the distance.
Forms
The decision to send him […]
Ah June — the hum of valedictory speeches is in the air and mortarboards take flight. We have been invited to celebrate this auspicious milestone with a number of high school graduates this year.
Mixed feelings
I imagine the parents of all these high school graduates are both thrilled and somewhat confused. Where is that little […]
One of the many charming aspects of living in an old house is that you are never truly alone.
Never alone
Oh sure, I might be the only HUMAN at home, the dogs outside and the cat ignoring me, but I have the sense that I am never really without companions. Once or twice a […]
‘Tis June — the season when wedding invitations flourish and everyone gets busy pledging forever, in sickness, and ’til death do us part.
Since there is nothing young married folk love more than unsolicited advice (unless it is the question that pops up within minutes of the ceremony: “So when are you two going to have […]
I knew that fatherhood had irreversibly changed him when Mr. Need for Speed drove at turtle’s pace hunched over the steering wheel, eyes scanning the horizon for any real or perceived danger to our newborn baby on his maiden voyage from hospital to home.
A motocross racer whose favorite motto was “it’s not the speed […]
You just never think it will happen to you. Then, one day you are caught. Transfixed. A deer in the headlights. You stare in horror as comprehension (and a wrinkle) slowly dawns. You are aging.
If there is anything to be learned from growing older it is that we really do remain young at heart […]
