It was the final day of your dance class. The parents and grandparents sat in folding chairs. You and your older sister were dressed in fancy leotards, sitting in a circle with the ten other ballerinas. Your strawberry blonde teacher led the class in elegant stretches, lifting her arms into the air. She went around […]
The night before her 6th birthday, I lay awake as mothers sometimes do. I worried that her party wouldn't be as special as she is. After a quick calculation, my husband and I noted that we probably spent $30 on the entire party. I had fallen prey to the idea that the higher the price […]
For your birthday, we bought you a bicycle off craigslist. Shiny pink with periwinkle blue, it glittered in the garage. It wasn't brand new, but you loved it just the same - hopping from one foot to the other as your dad tightened the headset. Long and lean, you are limber and strong. When I […]
Know anyone who is exhausted or discouraged? Think of the man on what-seems-like a perpetual job hunt. The new mother with an infant on her shoulder. The college student who hovers between uncertainty and confidence about his future. The high school girl who is trying to break out of her cocoon. The ten-year-old who lost […]
We promised to only say good things. There in the half-lit restaurant. Leaning back against wooden seats in a booth. We were college students, not at all frightened of forever. A diamond glistened on my left hand. On yellow lined notepads, we scribbled out what mattered. It's been one of the hinges of our relationship […]
"I'm not sure I can run 4 miles," I told Tim yesterday, as I held my 1/2 marathon training plan in my hands. "You don't have to run 4 miles," he answered non-chalantly, "you have to run one mile - four times." Sometimes the problems of the world seem too large. I wrestle with the […]