I took Josie to Target yesterday for some stealth Father's Day shopping. She takes holidays seriously. She starts to plan months ahead of time, thinks carefully about the person being celebrated, and chooses or makes lovely, thoughtful gifts. She gets almost excited about giving presents as she does getting them. I call her "The Keeper … Continue reading Father’s Day: An Excerpt
Tag: memoir
Putting Away the Winter Clothes
Today is June 20th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I think I can finally say, with no hesitation, that winter is over. Doesn't the calendar say this happens in late March? Doesn't it feel like it happens in late April or early May? Hasn't it been green here for two solid months already? For the love … Continue reading Putting Away the Winter Clothes
Lay it Fallow
I think I need to put my memoir away for a while. This is not an easy thing to do. When you write a book that you believe in, that you love, you want to do everything you can to see it thrive in the world. There's the writing itself, of course, first. The eight … Continue reading Lay it Fallow
Plan B in Two Parts
Part 1 I had so hoped to be able to announce here the good news that Paul and I were both awarded 2-week residencies this summer to work on our projects. Or at least that one of us had. But alas. Rejections all around. I knew that the probability was low given how competitive these … Continue reading Plan B in Two Parts
Reliquary
I've just added a new page to this blog: a place to keep the "things" of my dad's life. The stuff he liked (or didn't), or the things I most associated with him. This serves a functional purpose for my writing; it helps me remember him more clearly. But I also like the project of … Continue reading Reliquary
Outsourcing Memory
In the last week or so, my mom has reconnected with several of her (and my father's) old friends on Facebook. I remember these two families well from my childhood in Kentucky. We lived in a neighborhood--a treeless new development of modest homes that belonged to transient families who had come to Lexington for jobs … Continue reading Outsourcing Memory
Now is Not the Time to Write
What was I thinking? I actually said out loud to some people that I thought finishing a draft of this thing over the Christmas break was possible. Likely, even. Apparently I was not thinking about Christmas at that moment, or of how my body always gives in to exhaustion over break, or of the kids … Continue reading Now is Not the Time to Write
Best American Essays!
Wow. I just learned that my essay--the one which shares its title with this very blog--has been nominated by Literary Mama for Best American Essays! I'm really kind of speechless. Thrilled and speechless. I hear you already, universe. I'm listening hard. And I'm writing.
Brown Food
I've been trying to cook through the last of the CSA bounty and tonight there was still the matter of one sad, slightly browning head of cabbage in the crisper drawer. I really like cabbage, but the common green kind--the kind you think of when making corned beef and cabbage or sauerkraut--is not my favorite. … Continue reading Brown Food
Turning & Returning
It's been more than a year since my last post, and now we are deep into Autumn, the landscape having changed from greens to golds to mud brown, the temperature steadily dropping. The outdoor cats are coming in and seeking out laps and baseboard heaters. I think of November as a turning month--the hinge between … Continue reading Turning & Returning
Sheila squillante 