It's always fun to celebrate a 21st birthday, that raucous rite of passage into American adulthood. When your path to the party takes you through such unimaginable places, that the milestone can feel like a miracle, you get to celebrate with extra joy. That's how we felt last night as we toasted Jojo the Pizza [...]
My sister Kathy spent the week leading up to her 54th birthday helping my mom and I finalize details for a trip Kathy isn't even taking. She will be driving us to the airport, though, and picking us up, and hosting us the night before our flight. She's basically our personal Uber/Travel Agent/Concierge Service. I [...]
A handmade card I received with my chocolate chip pancakes set the tone for my mid-week, mid-ish decade, mid-century birthday. "Have a good ball of love," it read and, lucky me, I did. My ball of love grew like an April snowball in Wisconsin, shaped by pudgy fingers and delivered with joy. By the end [...]
The Neverending Story Teller knows the best way to make two little people feel less scared in their new home is to turn them into superheroes just before they dream. So, speaking gently, he weaves a nightly tale about a barn fire and two hero brothers who live in neighboring towns and reunite to save [...]
A few weeks ago I called to check in on my mom because I had heard about some awful weather that was pummeling the area just south of where she stays during the winter. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm just waiting for this wind to die down so I can take my walk." To be [...]