I have many issues with my mother and her ability to parent, but when it came to the acceptance of people who did not look like me, her parenting skills were exceptional in a truly great way. In elementary school, I was friends with the black girl (eventually there were two) in my class, along … Continue reading My mother didn’t raise racists
Category: aging
Sheltering in place with Jeter
Before you get the wrong idea, Jeter is my 85# yellow lab, not to be confused with classic Yankee icon Derek Jeter. My guy can catch a ball like nobody’s business, but that’s pretty much where the similarities between the two end. My Jeter came into our family in February of 2014 as an eight … Continue reading Sheltering in place with Jeter
Mother’s Day – more or less
As a kid raised by a single mom, I always dreaded Father’s Day and the absence of a male parent to honor. Mother’s Day was easy and we usually celebrated with school art projects, cards and flowers liberated from a garden that wouldn’t notice the theft of a few tulips or daffodils. It was pretty … Continue reading Mother’s Day – more or less
The day my middle son turned 21
It doesn’t even seem possible that the boys’ dad and I have successfully reared two 21+ year-old offspring. I think I’ll pause here for a moment of quiet celebration. Feel free to join me. Okay - so, twenty-one can be a real defining moment of adulthood. A milestone of sorts. With this particular kid of … Continue reading The day my middle son turned 21
Painterly thoughts
It’s been just about exactly twenty-one years since I last painted the upstairs bathroom. I’m not always so clear with years and dates, but this one is easy to remember because I was pregnant with my second son. My water broke as I raced to get the newly renovated third floor of our house prepared … Continue reading Painterly thoughts
Thoughts from the end of the world
These are bonafide whacky times. This free fall of the once great America is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I hear comparisons to the AIDS epidemic and the immediate post-9/11 days and understand and appreciate the obvious similarities. This, though? This is different. There’s a children’s book that I despise, The Giving Tree. … Continue reading Thoughts from the end of the world
Sleepless in Albany
I don’t know what to blame it on - the full moon, the clock change manipulation of time, politics, Coronavirus, upcoming travel plans, parenting angst, the uncertainty of the future, not being able to run...but getting quality sleep has become an issue for me and I’m not happy about it. It isn’t as if I … Continue reading Sleepless in Albany

