My mother hated Halloween. We never understood why. It started in July when the costume catalogues arrived. Mom would tap the page of a benign Snow White or fireman, wary but hopeful. We would balk at her simple dreams. My sister chose Mickey Mouse one year. But her...
All I want to do is be a grandmother. I’ve got my name picked out: Nana. It’s not original but it’s comfy. I have nineteen bins of children’s books ready for reading to littles on my lap. But it’ll be a while before grandmother status. My kid is only twelve. Most of...
Summer is winding down, so this past week I sat down with myself for a good long chat. It wasn’t hard. I was, after all, available. But because this was going to be a formal chat, I made myself consult the paper calendar and booked a time. Monday morning looked good....
July is made for watering holes. My favorite is the Blue Hole in Wimberley. Over the years, I’ve forgiven the state for requiring an entry reservation. I remind myself it’s a privilege, slipping into silky green water so cold it makes you believe summer is, in fact,...
Summer came with a driver’s license the year I turned sixteen. Thrilling, full of freedom. I hit the road. Unfortunately, I’d never paid attention to directions. We didn’t have Google. or GPS, I had my dad. He charted paths to the moon for NASA. The guy was a human...
If you’re like me, sequestered inside your home, chances are high that privacy is at a premium. Our bathroom was always a popular hideout, even before the pandemic, boasting its reputation as the “only locking door on site.” But with growing suspicions around national...
One of the great things about motherhood is giving in. I gave into “Long Arm Parenting” when my kids were little. I’d make up games I could perform without leaving the couch. I’d scoot them back and forth in a laundry basket, risking tennis elbow, but it was worth it....
My friend Jenny used to say the minute she walked into a museum her feet would start hurting. I thought this was hilarious until we walked into the Houston Museum of Fine Arts Impressionists exhibit. “My feet hurt,” my daughter said. I exhaled. I’d read The Conscious...
It’s February, the month we find ourselves knee-deep in chocolate. My favorite is the assorted box. As a kid, my dad once surprised my mother with a three-foot wide box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. It had been a particularly bad January. A house full of head...
I love New Year’s Eve. It’s the one holiday we spend without extended family. I get to cook which, I know, sounds cuckoo-loco. But coming from a big family, where my sole job includes remembering the paper napkins, it feels luxurious. The kids and I watch New Yorkers...
You know you have a problem with Christmas decorations when a deciding factor in buying a new house is whether or not it has the appropriate yard space to display your decorations. Before my husband and I purchased our new home several months ago, he agonized over...
It’s a trip being a parent in 2019. Not only do we have the most resources of any previous parenting generation at our fingertips, but we also have the NoseFrida. We are, as the youth say, hashtag blessed. As a modern parent, I am certainly thankful for: ...
