Nurse Nelson

Nelson was the first one sick. For three days. On the fourth day, mother nurse was down for the count. Another three days and Kendall took the hit. But there was a one-day period in which Kendall was not sick, Nelson was in recovery and I was sicker than a dog. Nelson stayed home from […]

Writer’s Digest: 5-Minute Memoir

My “5-Minute Memoir”  is out in the March/April issue of Writer’s Digest! Check out the issue at Horizon Books, Brilliant Books and BAM in Traverse City. Here’s a PDF online for my essay “The Last Page.” I love this Writer’s Digest. If you are a (real, imagined, wannabe, professional, pubbed or unpubbed) writer, you should […]

Breakfasting on the couch

What is wrong with this picture? For one, it was not allowed in my childhood home while growing up. For another, it’s not allowed in my home now, while my kids are growing up. Without my permission or even, at any clear point, my submission, the children have started breakfasting on the couch. They have […]

T-Day Dinner: If you have sisters, you know.

It’s the time of year when women everywhere will juggle family dinners for maybe two, three or even four different sets of family. Sometimes more. We have a special kind of curse, where most of the in-laws and out-laws live within a few miles of each other. This means we never, ever have just one […]

No Cookie! (Life with a puppy)

This new puppy has been really good for my diet. What’s better for changing one’s mindset than walking around yelling, “No Cookie!” about two dozen times a day. It’s true, I’ve lost three pounds since bringing this pooch home. The boys begged for a year. I really had no intention of getting a dog and […]