It’s the Mom days of summer
It’s Day 28 of captivity, also known as summer vacation. The kids have once again imprisoned me through their ability to stay awake later than me at night and yet still have the energy to pester me first thing in the morning. Frankly, I’m exhausted. Between trying to stay up later than the kids, the [...]
Grow where you’re planted
The junk trees are sprouting up in my yard again. There’s a mimosa coming up in my iris bed, a tulip tree growing out of the foundation on the north side of my house, and various maple and black walnut trees poking through shrubs around my front porch. These trees, along with assorted thistle, blackberry [...]
Cooking with cats
Ever since Mewcifer the stray cat pranced into our home and later, our hearts, I have become an unwitting student of cat behavior. For example, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been bitten before I learned to pay attention to the direction of Mewcifer’s ears. If those babies start turning back and flattening, [...]
Rules of proper parenting, according to Evan
Evan was nervous. He was due to present a big project at school, one he’d worked on all year long. As we were driving to school, he wanted to make sure that I understood what my role was in all of this. “Mom, don’t forget… you have to be at school no later than 10:00.” [...]
Don’t Axe, don’t tell
My son came home from the mall one evening wearing a strange scent that smelled like a combination of too-much pepper and fermented cat urine.
A cheeseburger with a side of karma
Once in a while, I’m not a nice person. OK, OK…I’m frequently not a nice person. I complain about The Way Things Are (a lot,) I can be cranky and unpleasant, and I totally stink at remembering to be grateful for all that I have. Lately, it feels as if I’ve had more than my [...]
The Jesus dryer
I have long suspected that the appliances in my house conspire against me. What else could possibly explain their uncanny tendency of dying in clusters and at the worst possible times? The refrigerator once died the night before we were to leave on a week-long vacation. Three years ago, the coffee maker, the microwave, and [...]
