Ah, fall. The smell of sunscreen, the light touch of my favorite linen dress, the icy kiss of popsicles. No, wait a second, that’s summer. It’s an early September afternoon in Austin, it’s 96 degrees outside, and I’m sick of sunscreen, sick of that dress, and I never...

During this unbearable heat wave, my son Gibson and I have been reminiscing about a time in his life when he started loving water and rain. Gibson was 3 1/2 years old, and during another particularly hot summer, he announced he wanted to be in the water all the time....

This summer, I planted my very own tomatoes. In June, they were doing great. The watering, sun and my incessant singing of “Walking on Sunshine” was working! Were my genteel neighbors tiring of hearing music blast from our back deck twice daily while I watered? Did my...

To kick off July, my kids and I pick one new activity to try together for the month. Over the years, we’ve learned to play ukulele, climb the Grand Canyon and make cheese. After this summer, we have plans to be experienced cave spelunkers! My favorite July was when we...

Don’t you love the party scene in “The Sound of Music”? If you’re not familiar (we can no longer be friends, for starters), the seven von Trapp children sing a delightfully, heart-tugging “goodnight” song to a glittering ballroom of dinner guests. My cousins and I...

She starts at the foot of the bed. Nighttime. The hubs and I are enjoying our evening ritual of quiet solitude surrounded by piles of books, notebooks, and of course, her snoring in a neat lump near our toes. Everyone’s content, especially our third baby –...

I carried this summer’s swimsuit candidates into the stall. Safely locked away inside, I spied chipped polish on the feet to my right. My stall mate’s dreams laid rejected. Little angry bursts of color dotted the stained carpet around her. That’s when it started....

Not to toot my own horn but I’m the best mom in the world. I know this because I surprised my child with ice cream after a grueling week of high school application deadlines. Why our children must apply for anything before college is ample fodder for another time. But...

It seems I’m now someone who reads publications like “Birds & Blooms.” I was given free subscriptions to several magazines of my choice last year. The only one I wanted was the bird one. The “bloom” part sounded nice, too. But as my friend Jane likes to say, “I...

As much as I love the holidays, I loathe January with equal fervor. Some months remind you of colors. January is the color of baby poo. Its very existence birthed the shade of ochre. Not everyone gets an official holiday in January. The shortest month of the year has...

Years ago, I wrote a book for kids called “Sweaty Christmas.” It’s hard to believe, but that white heat of genius did not change the face of modern publishing. (Oh, if I had a nickel!) It does remain, to date, my favorite attempt at children’s literature. Anyhoo. The...

Every Thanksgiving we point our headlights west. Leaving chic espresso shops behind, we speed past deserted gas stations and miles of empty scrub brush, barreling down open highways to finally arrive at Turkey Roost Ranch. It’s our family’s land. My mother’s people...