Election season always reminds me of my dad… not because he was a political person (he wasn’t) but because of my memories of the election of 2012. My story starts a couple of weeks before the November 2012 election. At that point, Dad was in the early stages, and still undiagnosed with, Lewy Body Dementia.… Continue reading Because We Can

As much as I love my summer garden, I abhor how straggly and unkempt certain flowers can become – ahem, petunias, I’m talking to you. I also detest the very act that prevents them from becoming leggy: the process of deadheading. My mom and I always lamented the weariness of summer flowers when autumn hits.… Continue reading Deadheading

Sometimes you just have to get the hell out of Dodge. It had been quite a week. I alternated between being horrified by the George Floyd killing, appalled at the riots, and concerned over friends’ experiences with COVID. More inconsequentially, my little laptop consistently freaked out over the number of spreadsheets I needed open at… Continue reading Nowhere, Indiana

Recently we had dinner with good friends. Sitting around their fire pit, we amazed at how quickly our 20s had segued into our 50s. One of our children is married and one of theirs is getting married in a month. When did they grow out of diapers, soccer matches and math tests? When faced with… Continue reading Charles and Betty

I have always prided myself in being hyper-organized. I make lists—sometimes of tasks I’ve already completed, just for the joy of crossing them off. But as I’ve been working at home for the last 8 weeks, I’ve found my brain rattled, distracted. A thought will jump into my head and I’ll travel with it down… Continue reading The Post-It Crisis

Of all the inventions in this century, there is one that has single handedly transformed motherhood. No, not the diaper genie or the high chair cover, great as those are. I argue that the greatest invention is a catalyst for maternal sleep around the world: the “Find your Friends” app. I am not a helicopter… Continue reading Following the Dot

It was one of those weeks. I feel like my most significant accomplishment was reminding myself of the difference in accent aigu and accent grave. My high school French teacher would be proud. Guess I’m ready to head to Paris—oh, wait, I can’t go anywhere. I’ve been trying to find little projects to break the… Continue reading Becoming a Foster

All week long, I looked forward to Friday—not only because working at home is frustrating and isolating, but because I had earmarked that day for my annual voyage to buy plants. Shopping for annuals was a yearly rite of passage for Mom and me. Each year, she was steadfastly predictable in her purchases. She had… Continue reading Sweet Spots

We are about to start our fourth week of staying home. I feel as if the first two weeks of this whole mess were spent in self-denial and then scurrying around looking for toilet paper and essentials. This past week, I settled in for the long haul and decided I needed a project, and that… Continue reading The Elusive Forsythia