Son #2 was home for a few days from NYC. I asked him what the strangest or funniest or scariest (which I added reluctantly because who wants to know that? not this mama) thing he has seen in the subway. I follow Subway Creatures on instagram; I know there is strange stuff to be seen: […]
Family
A Sandwich
These two people have something important in common. Aha! you say, the Yankees caps. Nope. The grandson couldn’t give a fig about the Yankees. Grandpa lent him the cap for for a day of fun at the ballpark. Grandson could give a fig about Grandpa’s Rule for such outings: Eat Whatever You Want. And it […]
Shoals of Adolescence
A funny post floated by in my Facebook stream containing “tips from a teenager.” Some of the tips: when the trash is full put more trash on it when you need something specific from the store ask […]
Was He Hitting On You?
In case you don’t have time to read the whole post, the answer is no. Most of the readers of this blog are people I know personally. So if you are reading this, you are probably already aware that I started a new job in May. I am still at Leeds, the business school at […]
The Luckiest Men Alive
When I introduce him to one of my friends, DH has been known to exclaim, “I am the luckiest man alive!” Apparently this form of introduction makes quite an impression on people. The new acquaintance finds it charming and such a sweet thing to say. Me? How do I find it? Laden with subtext. Here’s […]
Dear, Dear
I love advice columns. My favorite part of reading Dear Abby is laughing about whether someone I know is the correspondent. For example: Dear Abby: My calico cat, Rosie, seems to be fixated on my next-door neighbor Ron. Every morning Rosie grooms herself for an hour, then jumps in the window to watch for Ron…. […]
Chartreuse Dining Room Chairs
Richard Russo writes in his memoir, Elsewhere: One of the sadder truths of childhood is that children, lacking the necessary experience by which to gauge, are unlikely to know if something is abnormal or unnatural unless an adult tells them. In the 1970s, my family had chartreuse vinyl upholstered dining room chairs. Chartreuse vinyl? Not […]
Pool’s Closing! Everybody Out!
When Son #1 was three years old, DH used to take him to swim at the Stanford pool. If they were there at the end of the day, they witnessed the closing drill. It involved the lifeguards blowing their whistles and hollering, “POOL’S CLOSING! EVERYBODY OUT!” Those lifeguards had spent a long shift in the […]
“Today, I Made A College Student Cry”
I am not the “I” in the title of this post. Rather, the title comes from the first sentence of a Facebook post by a staff member at my school. The post moves me and makes me think, and I want to share it with you. Here is her post, and my responses to her, […]
There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays
We are home, back in Boulder, CO. A beautiful blue Colorado sky greeted us this week. Soon the nest will be full, at least for a bit. Here’s an image that comes to mind for comforts of home. Am I the indulgent mother or the contented child? Both, now that I think about it.