As published in the Rye Record on January 22, 2016 I saw a woman leaving the YMCA yesterday with a baby strapped to her chest, another, slightly larger one in a stroller, and a three year old holding her hand. She was infested with small children. I stopped to watch. How in the world are… Continue Reading
Category Archives: On being a mom
Lost and Found and Down the Rabbit Hole
It usually starts with “Mooooom…” Though it sometimes starts with “Hooooooney…” I hear it more in my lower back than in my ears, because I know this calm plea for help often leads to a trip down the rabbit hole. It’s the moment that some member of my family cannot immediately find the item that… Continue Reading
Holiday Traditions That Last
As published in The Rye Record on December 4, 2015 Decades ago, my Nana made a Christmas tablecloth that is still used by my family every year. It is hand-beaded with a delicate mesh overlay. Green felt trees are sewn around the skirt, each decorated with the name of a family member. As a child,… Continue Reading
The Time Warp of Back to School Night
As publishished in The Week on October 21, 2015 The cool kids are hanging by the lockers, laughing and talking a little too loud. The nerds are in the classroom early, eager to shake hands with the teacher and nab the seats in the front row. The girls are put together in skinny jeans,… Continue Reading
If More Moms Were Inventors
As Published in the Rye Record on September 25, 2015 My son’s third grade class studied inventors last spring. Every day he came home with another fascinating story of an invention like the light bulb or the automobile. It was inspiring to him and to me, because it made us see how people who… Continue Reading
Teenagers Prove That You Can Simultaneously Know Everything and Nothing
As published in The Week on September 4, 2015 Teenagers fool us with their size, vocabulary, and swift mastery of new devices. They seem to be about the right shape to fit into the adult world. They drive cars. They know algebra. So it’s always momentarily shocking to find out that they don’t know how… Continue Reading
Check the Toilet Seat First (And Other Things Boy Moms Know)
As published in The Week on May 4, 2015 When people introduce me in either social or professional situations, there are two facts that they usually mention: that I am a writer, and that I am the mother of three boys. Hearing these facts about my life never gets old, as I can’t think of… Continue Reading
Giving Away the Old Books (and grabbing half of them back!)
As Published in The Rye Record on April 17, 2015 I admit that I’m unusually attached to paper. Words on paper, to be specific. I save select cards, notes and love letters in a box that I’ve been carting from state to state for nearly thirty years. Those letters have an energy to them, the visual… Continue Reading
Death, Taxes and Dinner
As Published in The Rye Record on February 6, 2015 Much is made of death and taxes. Their unavoidability, the fact that they are always hanging, ominously, just over our shoulders. But death comes about only once in a lifetime, and tax season’s just once a year. Dinner, on the other hand, happens every day.… Continue Reading
Warning: It’s Christmas, Mom Might Snap
As published in The Huffington Post on December 18, 2014 One of my favorite holiday traditions is watching stuff I’ve seen a hundred times and sobbing in front of my television. By the time Harry Bailey says, “To my big brother George, the richest man in town,” I’m pretty much a mess. Among these odes… Continue Reading
