Over the past few weeks, I have been working on a resurrected writing project – a task that is likely to continue for several months to come. Whenever I delve into a task as daunting as this one, I look to various sources of creative inspiration and motivation. I read…
When my kids were babies, I always hated when well-intentioned veteran parents would remind me to Enjoy it! It goes so fast! No, I wanted to say, it absolutely does NOT go fast. In fact, there were times that felt like I was living in a time warp. A…
Last Sunday, on a cold Chicago afternoon, after being cooped up for most of the week, my husband and I looked at each other and said, “Let’s go bowling.” Now, nothing says wholesome family fun quite like putting on some smelly communal shoes and listening to drunk men swear at…
“Here,” my grandma said, thrusting the bowl of prunes toward me. “If you eat two prunes on Christmas Eve, you’ll have good luck in the new year.” At the time, her superstitious logic seemed utterly ridiculous even to my tender 11-year-old mind – and I still have no idea where…
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou Last week, I wrote about embracing the feeling of Christmas over the look of Christmas. I wrote about less fretting, more stillness.…
When I first moved to Chicago a little over 12 years ago, I was instantly struck by the daunting presence of Chicago’s skyline, especially at night. The soaring jigsaw puzzle of buildings, illuminated in sharp contrast to the dark night sky, gives off an impression of splendor and power and…