My son went back to work this past week at the inner city high school where he teaches. When he handed in the requested form indicating that he planned to return the following year, his principal was effusive. “He got really excited, Mom,” my son told me. “It feels good to be wanted.” It…
Read MoreThere’s definitely something about losing the remaining senior generation of your family. In the last five months, my husband and I lost his mother, his grandmother, and my mother. Coping with a trifecta of grief and loss has been tough, but it’s also made me do a lot of reflecting. With the time I have…
Read MoreAs I write this, my dear husband is preparing another one of his delicious Thanksgiving dinners. He truly loves to cook, and I am regularly banished from the kitchen. I admit it—I’m incredibly spoiled. He is unquestionably my culinary hero. He’s also my telephone hero. In an age when so many, myself included, email and…
Read MoreMonday morning did not start out well for me. I opened my email to discover a publisher’s rejection of a writing project close to my heart. As rejections go, it was a very nice one. The acquisitions editor pointed out some strengths of my manuscript and encouraged me to submit more work in the future.…
Read MoreOn the wall of our music studio at home, my husband hung up a plaque with one of our all-time favorite quotes by John Lennon: “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” That certainly has been the case in my own life. For example, years ago, in the wake of a…
Read MoreMy younger son Joel teaches at an inner city high school in Denver. It’s a tough job for not much money. Last weekend, he recounted a particularly difficult week in which nearly everything that could have gone wrong did. “But it’s okay, Mom,” he told me. “I’ve even picked out what I’m going to wear.…
Read More