Good-bye REI
It just so happens I gave my notice at REI this week, just ahead of Jerry Stritzke handing in his letter of resignation over a “consensual relationship” with the head of some other outdoor company. I didn’t play a big
Help for Lighting the Christmas Tree
Putting lights on the Christmas tree has been the seasonal job I detest most. It never goes well, but I finally figured out the problem: we don’t have enough lights for the tall trees we like. And I tend to
Of Winning with Daughters
Sometimes the most powerful words are your own, recited back to you. Lily is a poet. At 16 she won the Central Oregon Writers Guild poetry award. She won it again this year and I won an award for non-fiction
Marking Milestones
Kids become adults, and we ask, “where has the time gone?” Today is the last day our middle daughter will ever be 17, a milestone in the making. Have you noticed how many songs there are about being 17? It’s
Whose Pants Are Those?
My friend thinks I wear the ‘pants’ in my family, but she says it’s okay since the man of the family is not angry about it. The bigger question, or the underlying issue: Who’s in Charge? So many issues come
May is Motherhood Memoir Month
Maybe you’ve heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month- November), and now there’s MaMoMeMo (May is Motherhood Memoir Month)? Write with me- You don’t have to be a mother-everyone has a motherhood story; it’s where you begin. Why write about how
The Gum Graft
I sat in the chair breathing deeply, calmly trying to relax since I opted out of sedatives, thinking novocaine should be enough. After all, it wasn’t much of an area that needed a gum graft, just a small nick at
Power of the Journal
Journals provide a reliable path to revisit childhood; they reinforce the relevance of family as our children grow into adults. In the past I’ve written about how a mother might carve out a creative life in the midst of the
Yesterday’s Dress
The neatly made bed, the dress thrown off last night, last thing, laid out now, like it is just waiting to slip back over my body. The way dresses are nowadays, it even has curves built in. The dress was