Sometimes, when I’m peeling beets by my kitchen window, I imagine that if I finish quickly, before the squirrel nibbles that stash of nuts on my patio, the world won’t end in cataclysmic disaster. I take my massive, sludgy uncertainty about everything from my body to the way I’m raising my kids and ball it... Continue Reading →
After folding lights around each branch of our Christmas tree, my hands are patched with sap, lifting dog dander and curious little hairs from the furniture. I carefully unwrap all the glass ornaments we acquired when we lived in Germany—painted baubles, VW beetles, frosted toy trains, and breasty Bavarian mädels with their lederhosen-clad partners. The... Continue Reading →
Three years ago, we celebrated my sister’s engagement. Her friends arrived at our parents’ island lake retreat and they were kind and lovely. They talked about organic sex books with cover photos of tropical fruits and, wearing bikinis that could have fit fourteen-year olds, they spent the better part of the weekend sunning along the... Continue Reading →
It was 48 degrees in our living room this morning because my husband prefers to heat the house with dog breath at night rather than use the radiators. This didn’t bother my kindergartener—he leaves sock graveyards all over the house in winter. Don’t need those. I know—socks are for reptiles. But my warm-blooded boy won’t... Continue Reading →
My daughter’s teacher told me recently that second grade is when girls start comparing themselves to other people to find out not only who they are, but who they want to be around. Oh, snap, I thought. You mean it hasn’t even started yet? I was terrified. I thought we were already halfway through she-bop... Continue Reading →
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