The Grief Diaries: Fall

Andrew liked fall. I don’t have official confirmation, but based on the things he loved, I think I could make the case. As those things, football, the state fair, Halloween, come to life this year, we are reminded both of what he loved and what we’ve lost. Last spring, as the buds began to appear, […]

The Grief Diaries: Part One

Last week, my sister, Emilie, and I spent a long time wandering the LEGO store at the mall near my home. The store is new, much closer than the one in Raleigh. We were greeted by a store worker who accepted our polite dismissal of assistance without a drop in his smile. An avid LEGO […]

An Annual Lifelong Commitment

We’d been married about two months when I looked in the newspaper for Free-to-Good-Home cats and found Butler, a grey and white tuxedo boy about nine months old, and the best friend a young, often-to-be-alone, far-from-home gal could have hoped for. I needed a pet. I’d always had one. The year we lived in Australia, […]

Of Magnets and Memories

I’ve never been much of a collector; it’s hard when you move a lot. As a kid, I didn’t have any obsessive interest or a particular preoccupation that might have been the impetus for a collection.I didn’t encourage my kids to be collectors either. As an adult, I do have enough notebooks and coffee mugs, […]

And the Beat Goes On

There is something about live music, live theater, and live sports; experiencing such talent in real time always makes me emotional. It is one of those times in life when I am aware I am alive.

Maybe This Should Come With a Trigger Warning For Grief

Hi, it’s me, your walking nightmare. Andrew, our youngest child and only son, just 25-years-old, died on October 24, 2024. That’s hard to write. It’s harder to say, it’s even harder to believe. I could say he passed away or we had to say goodbye or, I hate this one the most, that we lost […]

There’s No I In Team

I’ve always been more of an individual sports gal. I started gymnastics when I was 6, maybe 7. As a middle schooler, I ran track. Does cheerleading count as a team sport? Or bowling? I bowled in a league as a 6th grader. 100 Things To Do Before You Grow Up encourages kids to think […]

Two Scoops, Please

I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about ice cream. No doubt, it’s popular. I’m sure ice cream dislikers exist but they probably keep it on the down-low, tired of listening to people’s shocked exclamations. I happen to be related to someone who doesn’t like chocolate and people are shocked, shocked I tell […]

Get Lucky

I grew up in the stereotypical 70s White suburban home. My dad went to work and my mom worked at home. He was responsible for 100% of the family income and she was 100% responsible for everything else. When people talk about representation in the workplace, girls being able to see women work and then […]