OPINION | Gwen Rockwood: Flipped on its head; what I learned while upside down
Instructor: "Now, wrap the fabric around your wrists and then pull yourself upside down to do the inverted starfish."
Instructor: "Now, wrap the fabric around your wrists and then pull yourself upside down to do the inverted starfish."
Dear readers, I'm taking some time off this week to help my mom during her cancer treatment. But while I'm away, I'm sharing a column published nearly 14 years…
When a thought or a random fact circles around and around in your head, looking for a place to land, sometimes it's trying to tell you something. Lately, it's …
Before I had teenagers of my own, I interviewed a child psychologist for an article I was writing at the time. During the interview, I asked the doctor for tip…
At least once a day, I run across a room yelling, "No, no, no!" Then I lunge for the remote control, the way a soldier dives for a grenade before it explodes.
One of the side effects of having an English degree is that I remember famous works of literature – but only the weird ones. The one I'm remembering lately is …
My mother is radioactive. You wouldn't know it by looking at her. She's dozing in a recliner, and the only hint that something is wrong is the sign on the door…
There's no month quite like January. It wants us awake at the stroke of midnight for parties, fireworks, a kiss, and a toast to the New Year. But then it steam…
When I was a free-range kid in the early '80s, I had a Pink Panther bicycle -- also known as the coolest bike a girl could have in that day and age. I rode it …
What some people call "the most wonderful time of the year" can also be the most exhausting. With all the extra events, shopping, cleaning, cooking, traveling,…
It started with a limp. What we'd hoped was just a muscle sprain in the dog's hind leg lingered for two months, landing us in the office of a veterinary orthop…
One of the things my dad taught me about the working world is that it's always good to have "multiple revenue streams." That way, if one stream dries up or slo…
I'm not a Black Friday shopper. I'm a Black Friday sleeper. While the stores see black on the bottom line, the only black I see is the inside of my eyelids whi…
No matter how many twinkle lights go up around town or how many holiday songs I hear in stores, I haven't forgotten you. November is yours. I have a turkey dec…
More than 20 years ago, Tom gave me a gift certificate for an hour-long massage as an anniversary gift. I'd never had a professional massage before. (Women don…
On my desk, there are three essential things -- my laptop, a computer mouse, and a no-frills, lined pad of paper. Without the computer and mouse, nothing could…
There should be a warning on this column because it's graphic, and if your stomach is as weak as mine, perhaps you should turn back now and save yourself.
It finally happened. After a stifling summer in the broiler, fall temperatures dipped to a crisp, cool 58 degrees. And that meant it was time for the annual ch…
October is about restraint. It's about resisting the urge to buy those giant bags of candy until the day before trick-or-treaters show up to collect it. Years …
Dear Ragweed,
BEFORE
Once upon a time, during a moonlit night, an unsuspecting woman descended the steps of her backyard deck and stepped onto the stone patio. Her three rambunctio…
I miss the writers. The Writers Guild of America went on strike in early May, and it has been a creative wasteland on television ever since. Most of the shows …
I only remember a little about being 7 years old. I remember my second-grade teacher’s name was Mrs. Wood, and she had beautiful dark hair and said I was good …
Pop… pop… pop. I’m sitting at my desk, methodically squeezing the sheet of bubble wrap I plucked from an Amazon box. My office door is closed because I have to…
My family of five (plus one large dog) made it home last week after a 14-hour road trip to the coast of beautiful South Carolina. Fourteen hours (each way) is …
Last night, my 16-year-old daughter and I had a "stress dream." Do you have them, too? If not, you're lucky. Most people have repetitive dreams when stress is …
It was a Friday night at Sam's Club. As Tom and I cruised the aisles of food, we had one of the many riveting conversations couples often have after more than …
Greetings from under the heat dome, where the air is thick, and we're all damp in unpleasant places.
Warren. That was his name. I didn't know him, but I knew he was a bad kid. He was getting busted by our teacher every day.
Maybe it’s hormonal. Just another cruelty in a long list of hormonal pranks the female body plays on innocent middle-aged women like me.
Once upon a time, in what feels like a long, long time ago, people had questions. But they didn't have Google. So what did we do? How did we make it through th…
When a person is harmless, people say things like "Oh, she wouldn't hurt a fly!" Around here, no one says that about me. They've seen me in action, and they kn…
At our house, we're sensitive to things that go bump in the night (or the day). Because our 16-year-old daughter has epilepsy and has fallen in the past during…
I can handle an interruption. I'm a married mother of three and a writer who's been typing in the nooks and crannies of life for more than 20 years. I practica…
Ten years ago, I got on a plane and went to Chicago. It took months of planning, but we pulled it off. I spent the weekend with my three best friends from chil…
To Whom It May Concern (and you know who you are):
As a little kid, I loved the book "The Little Engine That Could." It was published in the 1930s, and it's a story about the power of positive thinking. The sta…
A little over two weeks ago, we got a text from my son Jack, who's away at college for his freshman year. He sent it to our family's group text, which includes…
The other night, we watched the Super Bowl. Sometimes, I watch it for funny commercials if I don't have a favorite team in the matchup. But this time, the ads …
My husband Tom once accused me of being unromantic. As much as I hate to admit it, I think he might be right.
Recently I took a shower and stood under the stream of hot water trying to think up profound, writerly thoughts. But it was hard to concentrate because I kept …
I like January. I think most mothers do. Sure, it's the dead of winter, and it gets dark ridiculously early, but January has one big thing going for it. It's t…
If you're not ready to plunge into the traditional New Year's "get in shape" resolution, I've got an idea for how to wade into it (or any big project you've be…
During the weeks before Thanksgiving, I was high on anticipation -- counting down the days until our two sons were scheduled to come home from college for the …
My 78-year-old mother has a thing for boxes and has for many years. In her mind, throwing away or recycling a sturdy box of any decent size is like throwing ou…
Here's the answer to almost any problem you're having today. It's only three words long and makes you smell good: Take a shower.
I watch for great quotes the way kids hunt Easter eggs, eagerly peering around every corner in case a good one is nestled nearby. It's one of my favorite parts…
For those of us who have kids or pets -- or God help us -- both, there is one thing we know for sure. Illnesses, accidents and other misfortunes happen on the …
For the second time in our lives, Tom and I have a high school senior in the house. The first time it happened was two years ago, and it was weird. But that wa…