Love Means Showing Up
When our twins were five years old and on our local swim team, they were often put on the relay team. The likelihood that they would actually dive off the blocks and swim their one lap was very slim. It was so stressful to watch. The more coaches and parents encouraged them to get in
A few weeks ago, I visited my son Caleb in Ann Arbor for the first time. He’s a freshman in college and I wanted to see what his new life looked like. The town was enchanting and I loved spending a few days with him. The whole experience was reassuring and wonderful, until I drove
This is how I’ve felt the past few weeks: Baffled. Floored. Dizzy. From the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the quick nomination of a new Supreme Court justice; to the news about the President’s tax history and the debacle of the debate; back to the rapid spread of COVID-19 through the White House and
“I thought this was supposed be like The Little Mermaid,” I whispered to my son. We were sitting in the audience at the play Once On This Island and it had taken a dark, sad turn. The big-hearted, generous-spirited heroine was dying right before our very eyes. It was nothing like the movie! “Not the
A week ago, my husband Bryan drove our son over twelve hours to his new apartment at the University of Michigan. The last morning he was in town, I woke up early to go hunt down a mattress pad for Caleb’s new bed. It was like I was sending him off to war or the
I knew a woman who taught English as a second language to adults and one of the hardest parts for her was explaining to her students what all of our quirky expressions meant. Her students always struggled to keep these idioms straight. My favorite example was the combination of “something smells fishy” and “that rings
When my big kids were in preschool, we lost power during a winter storm. We all gathered in the family room and built a fire. We had light from the windows; it wasn’t terrible. My four-year-old son Caleb was anxious, though, and kept asking a bunch of questions. I finally said to him, “Why don’t
This past week, I had to tell my African-American twins about the murder of George Floyd. I always want them to hear about these things from their parents—not from a classmate or accidentally through the news. I have some experience with this kind of conversation; I decided years ago that I wanted them to hear
This spring has been very loosey-goosey; this is my least favorite kind of season. I prefer a full calendar with a pretty clear sense of what I can expect around the corner. For a long time, I’ve been able to pull off this level of reliability and consistency. I’d put things on my family calendar
Whenever something new or unexpected happens in my life, it takes me a hot minute to catch up. I wish I were quicker on my feet, but I need time to regroup. Part of that regrouping is looking around and finding someone in a similar situation who appears to know what they are doing. This