I’m a gardener now!

So, the title of this post may be slightly misleading, but I am going to say that in comparison to where I was at this time last year, I am a freakin' plant expert. I have never liked gardening, and I think it is for two main reasons: 1. I have never been good at it 2. A nearly debilitating ...

Gonna Make this Garden Grow

It was one year ago today that my husband and I made our first trip to the baby store, in order to begin picking out our nursery decor. It would still be two weeks before we found out that our Twinkle was a Twinklette, but that didn't stop me from spending hours pouring through books of ...

“Beau and Lo (and Lola’s Bows)”

(portrait courtesy of Emily D. Stewart, artist) “Beau and Lo (And Lola’s Bows)” Once upon an autumn day Baby Beau cried his very first cry Lola romped in the leaves, as she couldn’t believe Her new best friend had arrived. Lola loved her Beau and baby Beau loved his Lo In the house with the blue balloons With a chill in the air, and ...

COVID19 is making me feel like a bad mom.

(What I have done for the last 2 months: yoga every day. What I have not done for the last 2 months: felt, in any way, relaxed, calm, peaceful, or zen.) *** try (verb):  make an attempt or effort to do something; an attempt to achieve or attain.  trying (adjective): difficult or annoying; hard to endure. Has any other homonym been more applicable during ...

My children have a different accent than I do

"Now, everyone, take out your R and J," said Mr. Segal, as he paced, slowly but excitedly, at the front of the classroom. It was 2000. Mr. Segal was my high school English teacher, and he emanated passion an inspiration as only supremely gifted high school English teachers do. I was lucky enough to have him for both ...

Being a parent is hard.

"Did you feel the house sway?" I asked, trepidatiously. The people around me all nodded, as we peered outside the sunroom windows, staring at a blowing blanket of white snow. "I know that we all felt the house move when that cyclone passed over us, but our house is over 100 years old, so it must be ...

New Year’s Resolutions

Hello! Here I am! I could write about the last couple of weeks, and how much has happened, and everything about the book the book the book, but I think that we could all use a break from the book the book the book. And I have a promise on which to make good. On New Year's Eve I ...

a rose

"There is a rose and it reminds me of you," he said. We were in the middle of a conversation, but he interrupted the rhythm of the words that were dancing from our tongues. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I am looking outside at the garden and I see a rose on the rose bush and it reminds ...

Adult Friendship

“Friendship. It’s complicated,” I wrote, in my piece about "Thirteen Reasons Why", echoing Hannah Baker’s own words. In that particular post I highlighted some of the hardest aspects of life, and so I wanted to revisit this notion and to explain—on a deeper level—how I feel. Friendship, when you are an adult, can be both essential and ...

Festen

"It's daddy's birthday, oh yes it is, and it is today!" This birthday chant has become a tradition in our family -- mostly as a joke -- after having seen "Festen", the dark, dramatic play based on the Danish movie, on Broadway. For my 21st birthday, my parents and I got tickets to this star-filled show, featuring ...