Let’s not spend too much time contemplating the reasons why I haven’t written in three weeks. On second thought, let’s not spend ANY time. Let’s just write. A recent article from a student newspaper came to my attention yesterday and I was alternately fascinated and appalled, though mostly appalled. The subject matter of the piece – the true story of the author’s “first time”, i.e. losing her virginity – is so wildly inappropriate for a 7th-12th grade institution which prides itself on … [Read more...]
Monday motherhood: Football, fútbol, and resentments
Stop me if I’ve told you this before: (I’m aware you can’t do that. Let me keep writing.) In 1999, nearly nine months pregnant with Goldie, I woke in the middle of the night for another bathroom visit. Her birth was a mere week or two away and I suddenly thought, “This is permanent. This isn’t just some temporary responsibility. This kid is going to be around 24/7. And I don’t really like kids.” And then my heart started racing because ‘responsibility’ is not my middle name. (Can you … [Read more...]
Setting examples/programming the remote
This should have been my Monday motherhood post but I’m still experiencing a tremendous case of not-getting-things-done-because-I-don’t-care syndrome. It’s something different every day. Mom’s birthday was last Friday. I cleaned up the desk a few days ago and came across the last card she wrote to Miss T in November. Harry the cat has disappeared. As Roseanne Roseannadanna would say, “It’s always something.” I’ve told friends it’s like experiencing the aftershocks that came with the 1994 … [Read more...]
What I talk about when I talk about guns
A gun is not a car, and while there are many valid arguments to make regarding the limitations and responsibilities imposed upon drivers of automobiles under the law, no one intentionally buys a car with the intent of using it as a weapon to kill someone. In Thursday’s New York Times, attendees of a meeting with West Virginia’s Senator Joe Manchin to discuss gun control, implied that “going after guns and ammunition capacity would be much like banning box cutters after the September 11 attacks, … [Read more...]
Hello 2013, I’m distracted (but not about gun control)
I’ve been distracted since Mom died – by actual commitments too many to list, and then just distracted. It’s hard to explain. I sat down to write my end of the year list of things I loved in 2012, and then went and did ten loads of laundry instead. I tried again and then went and hung some pictures. Once more in front of the laptop and instead of sharing with y’all that I loved “Silver Linings Playbook” and Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending, I took the dogs for a walk and … [Read more...]
Monday motherhood: Mom
I’ve been at a loss the last several days, even before Sandy Hook. You see, my mom died a week ago, unexpectedly, and there’s no excellent way to cope with that kind of event. My father died in 1997 and so my siblings and I are now part of the “Adults with No Parents” club. It’s not a formal organization, nor even one anyone wants to join. It just happens, like it or not. Sometimes there’s anticipation. Occasionally, we imagine that someday the folks won’t be around anymore. But when it … [Read more...]