Quote of the day
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008
"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Give that mom a medal
Monday, Aug. 18, 2008
I managed to see just a few of Michael Phelps' races last week, including the record-breaking 400 IM relay. As a mother, I couldn't help be impressed by Debbie Phelps who did a remarkable job of holding her stuff together while her son made sports history.
Jonesin' for school supplies
Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008
I just can't get those No. 2 pencils and spiral notebooks out of my mind. What's worse, I've got no little kids around to take full advantage. Anyone have some third graders I can borrow for the day?
Here's what I'm doing today
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008
This is my garage. Normally, my car would be parked in there. Instead, we now have a flatbed trailer, piled high with the contents of my daughter's former rental house. She's boomeranged back. And there's precious little room in the inn for her paraphernalia.
Is secret spending a form of marital infidelity?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Do you wait until your husband is out of the house to sneak new purchases into the back of your closet? If so, there are people in the world who think you're cheating - yes, cheating! - on your spouse. It's called "financial infidelity" and many of us (I'm not naming any names) are, apparently, guilty as sin.
There are some things a mom just doesn't want to know about
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Last night, when I called my son in New Zealand, he was having breakfast (it was "tomorrow" morning there) and couldn't talk because he was going on a "canyon swing." Thinking he meant a swing around the canyon - as in a long, leisurely hike - I didn't think much about it. Until his e-mail this morning...
When chicks flock back to the nest
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
In August, my two chicks are returning to my precious empty nest. I'm not that upset about it, but this piece in the Orange County Register makes me wonder whether I should be charging my little chickadees room and board by formal agreement.
Anything but "Grandma"
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I don't have any grandkids, that I know of. But when I do, I'll be darned if I'm going to let one of those little rug rats - irresistible though they might be - call me "Grandma." That's why I loved this column in the Contra Costra Times.
"I pimped for my 80-year-old father."
Thursday, July 10, 2008
It's not EXACTLY what you think...but close. Bob Morris' new book, "Assisted Loving: True Tales of Double Dating with My Dad," chronicles his "year of dating dangerously" with his recently-widowed father. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll lock your parents in their rooms until they're 95.
Boomerang kids "down under"
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
There's a fascinating new reality show on Australian TV in which the camera follows three families whose adult children still live with their parents, for better or worse. Are baby boomers to blame for our kids' failure to launch? That seems to be the spin...
Funeral for a Fish
Thursday, June 19, 2008
For every empty-nester who remembers gathering around the toilet to bid a solemn fairwell to the family fish, I offer this too-cute-for-words video of a goldfish named "Lucky" who, apparently, wasn't.
A belated Father's Day goodbye
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Dear Dad, This is so weird. For the first time in 52 years, I can’t call to wish you a happy Father’s Day. I’d like to think I had a direct line to heaven, but you and I both know my permanent record wouldn’t pass St. Peter’s speed dial criteria. (What can I say? I was a teenager in the ’70s. My permanent record never had a chance.)
A mid-marriage change in the rules may make sense
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A friend telephones me with the news: She and her husband are back together. They were inching toward the edge of the divorce cliff, but now they are starting over. The news is the tool this 60-something couple used to reclaim their marriage: the post-nuptial agreement.
Parents almost can see finish line
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
My daughter has graduated from college and, God willing, she will be on someone else's payroll soon. No matter what she is paid by any much-hoped-for employer, I will be getting a raise. One of my friends pointed out that my disposable income could double when Jessie gets a job.
Mother's Day has grown old
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Mother's Day was 100 years old this year. It will be two years before Father's Day celebrates a centennial. Which isn't to say mothers are more important than fathers because, obviously, each of us has both.
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