North With one of my kids, recently grown and flown (Thing1), and the other, starting to contemplate his life outside the nest (Thing2), I find myself thinking more about what might have been if I made different choices. I used to wish I had made different choices — better choices. I am not naïve enough… Continue reading No Regrets
Tag: Thing1
Navigating by Stars
When Thing1 was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis six years ago, his doctor told us, “This is a permanent diagnosis.” We thought we understood what that meant, but even after a year of unsuccessful treatment and the discovery that he would have to have surgery — not to cure but to manage his illness - we… Continue reading Navigating by Stars
Tumbled
I’m starting to get used to the vertigo now. It’s been going on for all day for the last month, and it’s hard to remember a time when the world hasn’t seemed like I’m watching it from inside a dryer. Chronic illness is nothing new around our house, and Thing1 set a really high bar… Continue reading Tumbled
The Hardest Best Day
Kissing Thing1 goodbye two years and one pandemic ago as we dropped him off on the corner closest to his dorm was tough but good. He was doing what kids are supposed to do. He was trimming away the apron strings. But then, yesterday, he shredded them. He had been back for two weeks after… Continue reading The Hardest Best Day
Some Things Stay the Same
Not belonging to any religion -- organized or not- our nuclear unit reconfigures most holidays to fit our wants and needs. The fourth Thursday in November is no exception, especially this year. Like many Americans, the Big Guy, Thing 2, and I have been recreating, working, and schooling from home since March. Thing 1, needing… Continue reading Some Things Stay the Same
Common Creativity
When Thing1 was still a pea-picker, he hunched over his Matchbox cars for hours, watching their wheels and gears as he drove them around carpets and vitas he created and telling them their stories. I wish I had written them down because sometimes I think he needs proof as to just how creative he is.… Continue reading Common Creativity
Fathers and Sons
It’s interesting watching fathers and sons connect. It happens in the very beginning, but it seems as if, during those early teen years, a chasm sometimes appears. When Thing1 was eight or nine, he and the Big Guy bonded as father taught son and then sons the fine art of burping on command and then… Continue reading Fathers and Sons
I Wonder What Would Happen
The great thing about having raised teenagers is that, when your perpetually adolescent cat puts his front paws up on your plant shelf and starts sniffing the various items that are ‘in his spot’, you know exactly what he’s thinking. There’s a plum tree right outside my window, and the late spring has produced an… Continue reading I Wonder What Would Happen
Organically Grown
Somedays the wind is howling around the mountains. Other days, the sun is pointing out every new bud in the forest. Even when it’s grey and the back section of our trail is more pond than path, though, at four o’ clock, at least one kid and one adult will ask if we’re all ready… Continue reading Organically Grown
Pole Beans
The boys have been playing catch and frisbee on our walks around the house in the afternoons. Lately when Thing2 reaches for a deliberately off-trajectory frisbee, it seems as if his feet barely have to leave the ground for him to grab it out of the sky. The boys adjusted to living apart when Thing1… Continue reading Pole Beans
Don’t Go There
Still on the Group W Bench together It started with a writing prompt a few days ago. Write a scene with no more than four characters that happens in one room. It was a good assignment, but at first it took me to some very dark places before I remember I was in control of… Continue reading Don’t Go There
Self Schooling
My favorite picture of the Big Guy and Thing1 doesn’t show their faces. To the casual observer, it’s a picture of them replacing the radiator on our 20 year old Volvo wagon. for me, it’s the moment when our oldest kid learned that sometimes you get the best education when you roll your sleeves up… Continue reading Self Schooling