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 [...]
I traveled 442 miles round trip to have dinner with 75% of my kids Monday night and it was worth each of the 482 minutes I spent on highway 10. I’m not really a numbers person anyway. I am a person who loves glorious summer evenings, and smorgasbords of wood-fired pizza, and sweet bites of [...]
I spent a beautiful Saturday with my in-laws this week, thanks to the magic of memories and Churchill Downs. Vince and Mary Jane Biskupic loved to spend an afternoon at the racetrack, he for the opportunity to test his horse acumen, and she for the chance to test her Irish luck. Mostly, though, they both [...]
I have to think my Ukrainian matriarchs would have loved our Easter celebration this year. My daughter Molly gifted me with a Ukrainian Easter basket including traditional kielbasa and Molly-made goodies, my sister in-law Elaine gave me (and everyone else) a walnut roll (the highlight of every visit to my grandparent's house in Colver, Pennsylvania), [...]
For a good chunk of his life, my brother-in-law Keith worked two full-time jobs while raising his oldest son in a city about 1,500 miles from his closest relative. He taught school by day, worked third shift at the Miller Brewing Company and took care of his family both in Milwaukee and back home in [...]