Soak it up, the radio DJ told me yesterday afternoon while I drove home after dropping Teddy off at school. The weather was warm and lovely and delicious, a rare treat for November in Chicago. Soak it up, she said. We’ll miss this weather in a few months. After I pulled…
My grandparents raised their family in a tiny, brick bungalow on the west side of Milwaukee. The size of the house was inversely proportionate to the size of their family, something that by today’s standards seems to not only defy the laws of comfort, but of logic as well. Yet,…
Today is the first day of school here. I wrote and read this letter to Jackson yesterday, but really it’s a letter for the kids, for ALL the kids. Dear Jackson, Tomorrow is the first day of school. Second grade – WOW! I know you aren’t happy about going back…
We stood by the side of the road, my younger son and I. Cars raced past and we waited, his little hand clenched in mine. As soon as the traffic paused in one direction, cars raced toward us from the other direction. So we held hands and we waited. I…
“I had this rare privilege of being able to pursue in my adult life, what had been my childhood dream.” — Andrew Wiles, British mathematician The topic for today’s Monday Listicles is 10 THINGS YOU THOUGHT AS A CHILD YOU WOULD DO/BE, courtesy of Wendy at Twisted Domestic Goddess. So here is a…
A small brass trophy sits on our kitchen counter. It has already assumed its position among the other clutter that accumulates in a well lived-in kitchen, camouflaging itself against the backdrop of everyday life life. It is my son’s first trophy, given to him and every other member of the…