Category: children

The Burden of Being an Empath

Posted in 911, amusement park, children, Colorado, danger, empath, empathy, Glenwood Springs, Harry Potter, memoir, news, parade, parents, Sandy Hook, sledding, waiverLeave a comment

Yesterday several TV stations reported the death of a six-year-old girl while on a free-fall ride built into a mine shaft in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.  She fell 110 feet to her death. There was no age or height restriction for the ride.  She was with her parents and older sibling.  Something went terribly wrong. My… Continue reading The Burden of Being an Empath

The Sprinkler Man and the Glass Coffee Table

Posted in accident, angel, children, coffee table, disaster, house, husband, Mama bear, memoir, repair man, sprinklersLeave a comment

(re-run) When my two oldest children were 5 and 2, we moved from one house in town to another. We didn’t gain any square footage, but the new house had a huge yard, front and back, and forty trees in a better neighborhood. The house had been vacant for months. The sprinklers weren’t working in… Continue reading The Sprinkler Man and the Glass Coffee Table

The Story of Dr. Seuss

Posted in author, biography, books, Caldecott Honor, children, children's books, Dick and Jane, divorce, Dr. Seuss, Pulitzer Prize, Random House, The Cat in the HatLeave a comment

I just finished a 430-page biography about Theodor Geisel.  You might know him better as Dr. Seuss (his mother’s maiden name). When I chose the book to review, I expected a children’s biography, not an in-depth  tome that chronicled his life year by year, from birth to death at age 87. He had two wives,… Continue reading The Story of Dr. Seuss

The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Posted in birds, California, children, humor, hunting, Lindsay Wildlife Museum, memoir, Mount Diablo State Park, nature, outdoors, relationships, toddler, worstLeave a comment

I am a bird lover. I feed the song birds and the finches. I have an ongoing water supply in the form of a fountain in my back yard. I’ve planted native plants for the hummingbirds. When I hike, I am thrilled to find a hawk feather to add to my hat. Twenty-odd years ago,… Continue reading The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Deciding for your Children

Posted in artist, books, California, children, Chinese food, Chinese restaurant, daughter, donations, garage sales, Iowa, library, memoir, parents, self-fulfilling prophecy, teacher, teaching, writersLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s funny how something pops into your brain and you think, that would make a good blog post. Today I mailed 100 books to a librarian in Menlo Park. They are old kids’ books that my children read back in the day.  My librarian Facebook friend asked for books for her students to read… Continue reading Deciding for your Children

Creative People Make Messes

Posted in art, children, computer, creativity, directors, doll house, dolls, illustrators, memoir, relationships, sewing, sewing machine, writers

(re-run) If you are an orderly person like Monk on the TV show of the same name, this column is not for you. You crave things in place, all the time. Otherwise, you are agitated. The other side of the coin is the person who is so busy creating that he/she doesn’t notice the mess.… Continue reading Creative People Make Messes

The Crack in my Face

Posted in bathroom, California, Central America, children, citizenship, clenching, DACA, doctor, Dreamers, drugs, ENT, forehead, furrowed brow, gangs, Guatemala, Honduras, immigrants, jaw therapist, memoir, mothers, mouthguard, welfareLeave a comment

Because my son moved in, I changed bathrooms. He gets the new one at the other end of the house, and I get the hallway one with the skylight and window (the master bathroom is a cave). I was putting on my make-up the other day with daylight coming in. There it was, a huge… Continue reading The Crack in my Face

Whole Court Shake-up

Posted in Bay Area, California, children, girls, Las Trampas Ridge, memoir, moving, neighborhood, neighbors, pandemic, party, real estateLeave a comment

Ten years ago, I moved to the best little court in my town, in the suburbs of the Bay Area.  At the time, it was a court filled with girls – two grade-school girls across the street (they moved in five months after I did), two same-aged girls next to them, a baby girl bordering… Continue reading Whole Court Shake-up

My Three-quarter Bike Ride

Posted in biking, California, children, exercise, handy woman, Iron Horse Trail, lunch, melanoma, memoir, pandemic, railroadLeave a comment

I was the one that suggested the bike ride.  My adult children don’t spend enough time outdoors or get enough exercise. They do like to ride the Iron Horse trail, an easy, shady railroad right of way that connects towns up and down the I- 680 corridor. I knew I had them when I suggested… Continue reading My Three-quarter Bike Ride

The Whole-house Shake-up

Posted in children, doggie door, dogs, empty nester, Etsy, fitbit, memoir, mom, mom handbook, moving, relatives, sewing roomLeave a comment

My son is moving in.  I offered him the bedroom furthest from mine, so that he can make a sandwich at midnight, and I can sleep through it. It was my sewing room, filled to the brim. On Monday my helper woman took the twin bed apart in the bedroom closest to mine.  Then she… Continue reading The Whole-house Shake-up