A boy who went to school with my boys died this weekend. This is new for us.  I’ve been blessed in that the most significant death the boys have had to deal with thus far was our beloved Roofie Doo. That was hard enough. Jacob found out about it first, but he didn’t really know [...]

My youngest turned 15 today. Here he is. Isn’t he handsome? I wish he could see what I see when I look at him. His vision is much different from mine and sadly, not at all accurate.  This is how he used to look: He looks up at the camera as he’s speaking and then [...]

Dear World, I am afraid of you. Seriously, you scare me. I am afraid of what’s going on out there. This guy walked into a preschool in China and stabbed 28 kids and 3 adults. Seriously. What the fuck? This business has to stop. Sanity has to prevail eventually. Right? I mean. Right? People are [...]

I’m going through that special time in a teen’s life wherein “everything sucks” and also “my parents know nothing, nothing at all.” It’s a special time. I’ve already been through it once, playing the role of “teenager who knows everything” and now I’m reliving it. This time around, however, I’ve been recast as “stupid parent.” [...]

My Son the Man by Sharon Olds Suddenly his shoulders get a lot wider, the way Houdini would expand his body while people were putting him in chains. It seems no time since I would help him to put on his sleeper, guide his calves into the gold interior, zip him up and toss him [...]

So JD Salinger has died. Can’t say he didn’t have it coming, he was 91 years old. That’s a ripe old age and if you’ve got to go (and you do) you may as well go with 91 years under your belt. Stephen King wrote a couple short paragraphs on his passing over at his [...]

Matt was treating me for an ingrown toenail. I know, it’s gross, but he really loves me and I just had a pedicure today so… ANYWAY. My toe hurt so bad I couldn’t stand it. We’re talking white-hot, searing, eye-watering hurt here. I’m limping around and grimacing, being oh so very brave, I was. I [...]

Tonight while getting ready for bed the saddest thought crossed my mind. I had a sudden, unexplained vision of Kaileb as a baby, scooting across a hardwood floor, one sock on and a diaper. That’s it. Nothing else. His hair was much blonder and he still had chubby little baby cheeks. He was maybe just [...]

A good friend of mine sent me some raw peanuts from Louisiana. You can’t really find them in Seattle. I made some boiled peanuts with them. I have fond memories of growing up in South Carolina, stopping at some mom and pop gas station on the way to the beach and buying a wet, steaming [...]