Leaf through any wedding magazine, and you’ll think you deserve only the best for your big event. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, after all, so you shouldn’t waste this opportunity to treat yourself, right? Sure. A humongous ring, a gazillion roses, pure silk, fine china, cut crystal, surf and turf, spa treatments, and…
9/11
The Bottom Drawer
Ironically, there are benefits to moving so often as a military family. Every few years, we’re forced to go through all the used markers, pillowcases, snow boots, kitchen utensils, Barbies, tae kwan do trophies, tax records, and saucepans, and throw a bunch of stuff out. As a person who attaches sentimental value to everything from…
Battery by blender
“MOLINARI!” the ER nurse bellowed, jolting us out of our waiting room stupor. Tearing our eyes from hypnotic crime show reruns playing on the wall-mounted television, we scrambled to move our 12-year-old daughter, who’d been placed in a wheelchair to elevate her lacerated foot. “So, what happened?” the nurse asked. “It was the blender,” I…
Culture or Torture? Lessons learned while traveling with kids
April is the month of Spring Break, and Spring Break is a time for travel! The possibilities are endless: a Caribbean cruise, camping in the mountains, sight-seeing in Rome, hiking the Appalachian Trail, a B&B in the French countryside. Simple, adventurous or extravagant, a change of scenery takes you from the late winter doldrums into…
What I believe about Hell and hand baskets