Insomnia. Once upon a time I would have laughed myself silly at the notion I would ever suffer from it. Sleep was blissful respite, a safety zone from the terrors of the day, whatever form they took: bullying classmates; bullying mother; bad boyfriends; academic anxiety; work stress; parenting. Then came middle age. Perimenopause. Divorce. Survival. …
Tag: family
Tuesday’s Child
Our daughter-in-law, Sarah, is in labor even as I type this. She's about to bring a baby boy into the world. A baby boy to carry on the name, which shouldn't matter really, as we have a granddaughter who certainly seems to be carrying on the Irish stubbornness just fine. But all new babies are …
Foundation/The Village/Sunday School
There we were: my partner-in-Sunday School-teaching-crime, Arthur, our solitary student, and me. As we peppered him with questions about the text of the day, this not shy middle school boy said the only logical thing there was to say, "Argh.....! Don't quiz me!" And we weren't really quizzing, but I'm sure it feels like a quiz when …
The Birds & Bees & Uncle Duane’s Chickens
The casual way TV sitcom characters talk about sex, all the time, in front of their TV sitcom children is something that never quite rings true to Paul and me, though it did have us laughing about our turns at bat delivering The Talk to our own respective children. My former brother- and sister-in-law kept chickens on …
For Cara, or, Comfort for Parents of Imminent College Students
For all the tea in China I would never be purposefully rude or hurtful to anyone, yet I so often am when unfiltered things come flying out of my face or occasionally, fingertips. For example, the other day a friend posted a heartfelt comment about her daughter going off to college, how she was already …
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A Man, His Wife, Her Neurotic Cat and His Tranquilizers Take a Road Trip
What could go wrong? We've left the Lone Star State, our home for many years, moving East and I seem to be on a reverse trajectory through life, erasing all those miles my ancestors put between Virginia Colony and me, their distant descendant. The move went as well as a move can go, with the exception …
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Friday Five: Joy
My friend and fellow blogger, Mary Beth, accepted this challenge: “What’s the thing in your life that makes your heart sing? When do you feel most alive?” then threw down the gauntlet. Having rarely met the gauntlet I didn't want to pick up, I thought maybe I wouldn't be able to come up with five, or at …
Texas: Popping Up and Being Awesome
My senior year of high school, I dated a boy named Robert. He was an unlikely candidate for the job, actually, but in the weeks preceding our first actual date, wherever I was, he just kept popping up, being awesome. For some time now I have realized that, like Robert so many years ago, Texas …
A Remarkably Good Visit: a Gem in the Midst of Alzheimer’s
“Boy am I glad to see you!” This was an unexpectedly cheerful greeting from Mary, along with a bright smile and a wave of her amethyst-be-ringed hand. Ducking his head under the EXIT sign at the juncture of hallways, Mary’s youngest son smiled too. In the two years I’d been coming with him to visit, …
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Southern Fried Californian 