Visiting us, our son, a chef, searched our fridge for “a little something.” He flashed me a horrified look and insisted, “Com’ere. Look at this.” “What?” I asked. “Mom, how old is this tomato-bean casserole-y thing?” “We had that chili two days ago.” He spooned out a mouthful. “Not very spicy. Did you season it?” … Continue Reading
Grocery shopping, I spotted a box labeled, “Entertaining Crackers.” I chuckled, “I’ve never found crackers to be entertaining.” The sign leading to another aisle read, “Functional water.” I laughed, ”Isn’t all water functional?” I wondered about how we market food, advertisers desperate for sales, to entice, as if a buyer might say, “These crackers will… Continue Reading
Do you ever wake up empty? I mean, do you first think versions of hollow questions like “what’s for breakfast?” or “Do I look fat in that shirt?” You know, questions that trigger, “ugh, another day, blah.” Me too. “Ugh” questions don’t nudge us out of bed like poet Mary Oliver’s, ”What is it you plan… Continue Reading
I followed my young children, turning off lights as they left rooms. It concerned money, I thought, the electric bill, which my husband said saved only a few pennies. Then I concocted another reason— sparing electricity, which I didn’t understand. I didn’t know words like grid. Today I turn off lights when I leave a… Continue Reading
Someone recently asked me, “What do you worry about?” I worry that we will forget to be kind. At the end of his broadcast, Lester Holt urges, “take care of yourselves and each other.” Sometimes I hear it as “take care of eeee chuthur.” Sometimes I laugh. Then I realize that I worry about this… Continue Reading
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Photoloni