It's snowing in Pittsburgh today, the first real snow of the season, and enough for the public schools to call off, universities to delay. A "proper snow day," I called it on Facebook this morning. Not a move to online learning as we all got so used to during the first days (years) of the … Continue reading Is It Real or Is It Imagined?
The presidential election has been decided and I can hardly bear to speak the name of the person who emerged as the victor. The soaring elation I felt as I walked into the voting booth with my daughter and watched her push the button that recorded our vote for the first woman to run for … Continue reading Calm
You have to find a balance. You have to make sure you have time for your family, your friends, your writing. You have to find a way to make this job sustainable in your life. These words, spoken by the director of our program, have swirled in the air around me since I arrived in … Continue reading On the Fulcrum
The internet tells me that today is the tenth anniversary of the finale of Six Feet Under, a series which aired on HBO from 2001-2005. Ten years ago today, my first child--my son-- was 18 days old and I was a frantic, euphoric, sleep-deprived, love-swallowed mess. Nevertheless, I was not going to miss the final … Continue reading The Story
I am at the confluence today. With my left hand, I reach back and touch yesterday, the always-blue sky, bright sun, florid breeze of my son's birthday--his 10th on this earth. I fluff his hair, thick and unkempt, trace his still-boy jawline and poke my finger into his dimple, one more beauty mark. I remember … Continue reading Confluence
Sheila squillante 