Happy birthday to the queen of the court (and our family)

Happy birthday to the queen of the court (and our family)

On the day before her 87th birthday, my mom took a tennis lesson. She likes to keep her game sharp. It bothers her that she can’t hit the ball as hard as she did back when she used to run my dad around the court with her strategic baseline, baseline, drop shot, lob, drop shot [...]

Fear the dear sister, cancer. She’s a champ

Fear the dear sister, cancer. She’s a champ

Had my sister Kathy not invited me to a Milwaukee Bucks game this weekend, I might never have known how grueling her cancer treatments are. She certainly would never have told me. Kathy doesn't like her cancer to inconvenience anyone else. A stage four breast cancer battler since 2016, Kathy has been astonishingly matter-of-fact about [...]

It’s just a game, but…

It’s just a game, but…

I know it’s just a game, not markedly different than the one little kids play on Saturday mornings. But, man, doesn’t it feel good to cheer for something every now and then? Lambeau Field looked particularly gorgeous last night, all lit up outside and in. I held my cellphone flashlight aloft and just took it [...]

Aunt-icipation and a wedding shower hosted by the Little Girls

Aunt-icipation and a wedding shower hosted by the Little Girls

We've been calling my sisters the Little Girls for more years than they'd care for me to repeat. Born three years apart, the two youngest girls in our family shared a room (and even, for a few years, one double bed). They wore matching clothes until Kathy, the older of the two, put her foot [...]