Family
Feeling Grateful
On the long drive to see my New York City grandkids for the first time in more than a year, I felt both excited and nervous. I’d been summoned two days early to cover for the much loved nanny who needed to attend a family funeral. I knew my six-year-old grandson was old enough to…
Read MoreReflections of a Football Grandmother/Writer
Determined to support our football-playing grandson, my husband and I ventured across the Ohio River into Indiana to see him play his varsity game last night and JV game this morning. All I can say is I have now witnessed close up why it took less than two weeks for our grandson’s high school to…
Read MoreCelebrating the Love of My Life
When I turned 39, my husband gave me a coffee mug that said, “39 and Holding.” At the time, I couldn’t imagine the day our marriage would reach that magic number, but today is our 39th wedding anniversary. I feel lucky as hell to be married to a man who makes me laugh every day…
Read MoreFather’s Day: One Writer’s Reflections
Video of Milo bikeriding Spring 2020 When my husband Alan and I were dating, he spent at least as much time courting Ed, my five year old, as he did building a relationship with me. He devoted hours on end to doing artwork with my little boy, not to mention running beside him as he…
Read MoreMissing My Mom on Mother’s Day
This is the first Mother’s Day when I haven’t gotten to shop for gifts and a card to send to my mom, and when I haven’t been able to talk to her. She died on December 9. After years of dementia, the quality of her life had deteriorated so much that it was a blessing…
Read MoreBirthday Reflections for My Grandson
Sixteen years ago, my life changed when I became the totally besotted grandparent of Cameron, my first grandchild. I love this young man more than life can say. Along with the four grandchildren who’ve followed, he’s enriched my life in ways I could never have predicted. This isn’t exactly the sixteenth birthday year I’d hoped…
Read MoreMother-Daughter Turbulence in the Early Teen Years
A few weeks ago, I was welcoming students to an overnight for a middle school comprehensive sexuality class when a mother dashed in without her thirteen-year-old daughter. “Sarah won’t be here for a while,” she said. “I kicked her out of the car and told her to walk the rest of the way.” She went…
Read MoreFeeling Grateful
My students have been studying Clint Eastwood’s remarkable 2008 film, Gran Torino. We’ve been talking a lot about its themes. One is, of course, that “real” family is wherever you find it. The protagonist Walt is profoundly disappointed with his sons and families, and they don’t care much for him either. But, despite his long-standing…
Read MoreOne Month Later
It was a little over a month ago that our younger son Joel married Priscilla Hernandez, the love of his life, at Cliffview, a rustic retreat near Red River Gorge. It took him a mere fourteen years to convince his bride to marry him, and I’ve never seen anyone more thrilled than our son! We…
Read MoreRe-Creating That Small Town Feel
The long-running joke in our family is that if my dear husband didn’t have an errand to run, he’d invent one. And since his retirement, the number of weekly errands has at least quadrupled. I’m convinced he’d lose his mind if he were ever sentenced to house arrest. I used to think that his constant…
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