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…
When Tom and I were young and dating, we'd sometimes notice an older couple sitting in a restaurant in total silence. We wondered if perhaps they were mad at e…
Last week I did something that took no effort at all. I turned 49. As special occasions go, you can't beat a birthday. No one expects you to plan for it. No on…
Last weekend, a friend needed to borrow a piece of equipment, and I knew exactly where it was. I retrieved it from the closet but then realized it had a cord -…
I love it when something old becomes new again. And lucky for me and my fellow letter lovers, word games are not only new again, they're cool. Even my teenager…
If you watched the Super Bowl a few weeks ago, you may have noticed that most of the car commercials were for a specific type of car -- electric. Electric cars…
Something uncomfortable happened after Christmas. It has taken me several weeks to admit it because I already know how it'll make me sound -- shallow, silly, v…
Whether you're 40-something or only 4, we all want our own way. Toddlers are especially insistent about getting their own way, which is why you'll often see on…
The sky is blue, the snow has melted, and the covid home tests are once again negative. Hallelujah! My family and I have thankfully recovered from the virus, j…
Part of me felt like a failure. For nearly two years straight, I tried to make sure it didn't get us.
Since our oldest son turned 20 last month, I've technically completed what's often called the terrible teens for at least one of our three kids. For the record…
There's good news here at home. Those two gaping holes in the side of our house have been plugged with new living room windows, just in time for January's cold…
Do you remember the Where's Waldo books popular in the late '80s? I had one when I was 14 and found it fun but maddening at the same time. Just in case you wer…
To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the whole New Year's shtick. A million years ago when I was single, I dreaded New Year's Eve because there was far too much…
Earlier this week my kids beat me at poker. No money changed hands, other than those colored plastic chips. But the bragging rights will last a while, at least…
When I woke up this morning, I had one thought circling in my head: "My kid is 20. He's 20! I am the mother of a human who is 20. How did this happen? Wasn't I…
Christmas used to be simpler. I'm not talking about way back when people roasted chestnuts and used flip phones. I'm talking about a dozen years ago when our t…
This morning I took the dogs out and noticed a distinct change from yesterday. The leaves, which had been falling in an occasional sprinkle, have now ramped up…