Parenting

Baby Sarah

My daughter is telling everyone that I am pregnant with a baby girl named Sarah. (I’m not.) After the third person at her school congratulated me on this fictitious pregnancy, I asked her why she was telling people this. She replied, “Because it makes people happy when I say that.” Yeah. My daughter loves babies.… Continue reading Baby Sarah

Parenting

A discussion about death over orange juice

"You'll die first." My five year old daughter said that to me about two weeks ago. It was 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. I was leaning into the fridge reaching for some orange juice. She was between bites of her cereal, sounding chirpy and chipmunky as she usually does. "You'll die first." Do not… Continue reading A discussion about death over orange juice

Life

Getting (or not getting) what you want on Election Day

Tomorrow is Election Day. It seems like a lot is at stake this year. Whew. Like many people, I will be on pins and needles hoping hoping hoping watching watching watching as the votes are tallied. My guy! My guy! My guy! I want my guy to win! Four years ago on Election Day, my… Continue reading Getting (or not getting) what you want on Election Day

Parenting

Beauty fail, beauty win

A few weeks ago, I freaked out and bought some cosmetic spackle to "fill + seal" my frown lines. Yeah. I was killing time in the Barnes and Noble, and I wandered across an article in a fashion magazine about my 'elevens'. I didn't know about these until I read this article -- 'elevens' are… Continue reading Beauty fail, beauty win

Parenting

Click on it

My child has been playing a lot of (too many!)  Sesame Street computer games, and watching too many (ehem) intellectually stimulating TV programs, and eating cereal for dinner on a regular basis. This is what happens when I’m in a show. And, you know, I’m cool with that. She’s fine. I’m fine. We’re all fine.… Continue reading Click on it

Parenting

I want pizza: Losing ourselves in the Atlanta airport

The mother of all tantrums. You know, the one when you and your kid totally lose it? The one that you fear as a parent? THE GIANT LENGTHY EXTENDED RE-MIX OF ALL THE PREVIOUS TANTRUMS TURNED UP TO ELEVEN ON THE VOLUME KNOB -- THE MOST PUBLICLY HUMILIATING SCREAMFEST COMPLETE WITH VIOLENT FLAILING TO HIGHLIGHT… Continue reading I want pizza: Losing ourselves in the Atlanta airport

Theatre

My heart is haunted: silent, spoken, sung

I’ve been haunted by a story all week. The story sits in the room with me, trails behind me as I walk, hovers over my spooned-in oatmeal, perches on my nightstand as I sleep. When I wake in the night I see it gazing at me hazy and shimmering. Waiting. My neck-hair prickles. My fingers… Continue reading My heart is haunted: silent, spoken, sung

Parenting

Press fresh

Recently, my husband did something unexpectedly old-fashioned and sentimental – he pressed a rose for my daughter. He slid the rose we gave her for her first dance recital between the pages of an enormous volume of William Shakespeare’s unabridged works, stacked a dozen heavy books on top of that and let it sit in… Continue reading Press fresh

Parenting

Yearning for all

You've likely heard something about the article in The Atlantic Magazine by Anne-Marie Slaughter. It's titled Why Women Still Can't Have It All. It received so much attention that the website crashed. Cool. If you haven't read it, then please do. It takes awhile because of the length, but it's worth it. After my trek… Continue reading Yearning for all

Life

The role of a lifetime

My grandmother died last Friday. She was my last living grandparent. Now I have none. Three grandparents were living when I got married five years ago, when I had a baby three years ago, when I was at Christmas two years ago. And now there are none. There's been a shift in our family as… Continue reading The role of a lifetime