When someone is really unwell, expectations drop, but as a person reaches their potential, we demand more from them. I guess my Mark should have taken it as a compliment that I expected so much of him. My farther-in-law, Mark, spent about forty years as a heroin addict and, when he finally got clean, he […]
I am 38 weeks pregnant with my second child and I am planning on having a home birth. I have loved the idea of a home birth for many years before I was ever pregnant but it has been the most difficult decision of my pregnancy. It took a long time to arrive at this […]
I was born on July 13th, a day that also happens to be my dad’s birthday. This incidental event has created a small but special bond between my dad and I, and it is reinforced every year. Dad isn’t one for nicknames but he calls me “birthday girl” (which I absolutely love) and in return, I usually make a […]
All across America today, as families and friends gather over heaping plates of food, they are arguing or disagreeing or pushing down their feelings about the offensive things being said across the table. Everyone seems to have a grandma or an uncle or a brother-in-law who thinks outrageous things and finds in a holiday meal an […]
I wrote this song for my mother, Cheryl, to celebrate her 60th birthday. (Audio) Down in the neighborhood when she as young Cheryl was a friendly one who always got along hop the fence right after school oh what a lot of fun- to be jumpin rope and hopin scotch and skip n play n run? […]
As I laced up my running shoes I told my Mom: “I’ll be at the turn in the road where the asparagus grows in 15 minutes.” She didn’t seem to want to go unless everyone could come and went about trying to rally the scattered troops. I finally left, frustrated that mom was going to miss out […]
The sunrise this morning is beyond description. Mom and grandma are perched on the couch, looking out the window at the horizon like children waiting for a mysterious visitor to knock on the door. Their innocence and wonder melts my heart and I join them. As the sun rises, it is pierced in half by […]
Every February, Mom and Grandma take the long drive up to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to experience the heart of winter in the tiny town of Paradise and watch a dogsled race. The UP 200 is a qualifying race for the Iditarod and I am fascinated by its modest exoticism. Even before I reached a maturity […]
This morning, the weather is clear. It’s time to go. Everything Mom does is slow. Maybe not slow-slow, but slower than my pace and it’s frustrating me. Why can’t I be patient? Why do I see each moment as an opportunity to show her what she could be doing better? I am on her vacation […]
Waking up in the hotel room is nothing like it is in the little cabin. There is no window to sit and watch the sunrise from. In fact, when I look out the window, I see nothing. The storm has subsided not at all, and sunrise will serve only to change the hue of our […]
