On Easter Sunday, my husband and I took our children to Mass, as we do every Sunday. I wasn’t born Catholic, and I haven’t always been a regular churchgoer even after I became one. But we love our church here, mostly thanks to the wonderful priests who run the place. I originally became a Catholic [...]
Filed under: 1990s, 2010s, extended family, job, mother, parents, road trip, siblings, single parent, strength, travel | Leave a Comment »
When I met my husband in 1995, I thought he and I had a lot in common. We were both crazy computer people, in an age still well before personal computers and internet access were common place. We both were independent, working hard at our careers and had a lot of ambition at the starting [...]
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My sister emailed me over the weekend; she asked if it would be possible for me to visit Michigan next month for her daughter’s birthday and an event at her son’s school. Her email initially bugged. I’m not going to lie. I’ve lived in the Northeast for seven years, and I can count on two [...]
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So, the drinking. I never was a huge drinker. Only socially. I wasn’t one of those girls who went to parties in high school and got wasted; so much so, I thought the parties depicted in movies like “Sixteen Candles” were just Hollywood figments of someone’s imagination. It wasn’t until I got on Facebook and [...]
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No one believed the forecast. When our weather forecasters started talking about snow in the forecast last Thursday, those of us in SW CT were incredulous. Snow is virtually unheard of in October here. Sure, I grew up in Michigan; I remember several Halloweeens spent with winter coats and flakes in the air. Nothing significant, [...]
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I tried to write out every little thing I could remember about my great aunt last Saturday. I think because it was the right thing to do, to ponder and think and remember all of the things that I hadn’t thought of in so long. But more, I think, because I felt lost in what [...]
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My great aunt is sick. Well, it’s more than that, I suppose. My great aunt is more than sick. My great aunt is dying. Right now. My great aunt Katie is my mother’s aunt, her favorite aunt, and we were very close to her when my mother was alive. Most of my happiest childhood memories [...]
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Michael lost it the other night. It had been a good day for him, in fact a great start to the school year so far. Last year, he stumbled so badly at the beginning of the school year, in terms of academics and behavior, that I actually phoned his teacher on Friday in tears wondering [...]
Filed under: 2010s, autism, extended family, fear, insecurity, son, special education, teachers | 2 Comments »
Before the hurricane decided to head this way to New England, it was chasing us down on our family vacation the week before. It’s funny to even say those words together: “family vacation”. We took a few of them when I was a child, a “family vacation” but it was never really the whole family. [...]
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Dear Pat, I was very sorry to hear of your mother’s passing. It is such a profound thing, to lose your mother. It doesn’t matter whether you’re twenty or sixty; it is always hard, always difficult and especially so when you share your home and your lives with each other. I hope that you are [...]
Filed under: 2010s, anger, death, extended family, single parent, son | Leave a Comment »
