If we’re lucky, we all get older before we die. In our youth-obsessed culture, it’s not something many of us like to think about or perhaps even acknowledge. But denial only goes so far. Here are my observations about: Six Surefire Signs You’re Not the Spring Chicken You Once Were After watching you swim laps,…
The call from my son came in as I drove down the highway to pick up my sixth grade grandchild. Thought I should warn you he got into big trouble today at school. He said something to a girl she really took offense to. She reported him and he ended up spending the day in…
We meet someone at a cocktail party, and one of our first questions is apt to be “What do you do?” By that, we usually mean, “Where do you work?” and “What’s your job?” Whether the answer is accountant or domestic goddess, we tend to make certain assumptions about that person. Aha, we say, the…
When I was twelve, my single parent dad remarried. I was ecstatic beyond belief. My new stepmom was warm, caring, and fun-loving. Best of all, she was the first parent I’d ever had who wanted the job. It didn’t matter that most of the other kids in seventh grade thought it was babyish to hang…
High school yearbook photographer Harper is stunned when she and star quarterback Brody are voted “the Perfect Couple That Never Was.” Never mind that she’s been attracted to the handsome daredevil since their elementary school days. She’s currently dating Kennedy, the intellectual film buff and yearbook editor, and Brody’s with Grace, a popular cheerleader. Besides,…
In fiction writing, we have something called the “unreliable narrator”—a story-teller that we eventually discover can’t be counted on for objective accuracy or full disclosure. We readers often end up surprised by what the “truth” is. “Truth,” however, is a slippery concept. There is a sense in which all of us are unreliable narrators. The…
Even though I’d volunteered to deliver the prayer at my recent MFA graduation from Seton Hill, I was a little nervous about how my version of a prayer would be received. Seton Hill is a Catholic university, and I am not Catholic—or even Christian. Instead, my faith tradition is Unitarian-Universalist. Believe it or not, the…
Three weeks out from New Year’s Eve, and at least seven folks have said to me, “Thank God the holidays are over.” I can sure relate. My stress-o-meter zooms to new heights the week before my family arrives. Between finishing up last minute shopping, worrying about the holiday cards I haven’t yet started (oops), and…
I like to imagine that I’ve really “evolved” and matured over the years. And then every once in a while, I realize there are some things that haven’t changed at all. The other day, I came across something I’d written years ago (back in prehistoric times when there was such a thing as video stores,…
The other day I put my one year old grandson Milo down for his morning nap and retreated to my desk to do some writing, baby monitor in hand. He fell asleep quickly. I eagerly opened up my lap top, figuring I had a good hour and a half to work before he woke up.…