Recently, while my husband, Francis, and I were lugging our window air conditioners out of the attic, he relayed a personal story I’d never heard in our 25 years of marriage. I’m not sure if it was the sticky weather we were experiencing or the sweat mustache that had sprouted on my upper lip, but…
9/11
The Agony of Bathing Suit Shopping
Summer, this balmiest of seasons, evokes sunny scenes of kids running through sprinklers, smoky whiffs of charcoal grills, soft sensations of waves lapping bared toes, and sweet sounds of crickets on steamy starlit nights. But summertime is not all popsicles and dandelions. Actually, this beloved season heralds an event that strikes dread in the hearts…
Bowling for Spouses
Every summer, a fresh crop of newly-PCSed military spouses emerge from housing like swarming termites in search of pulp. They follow other spouses to school, approach them in the commissary, and ring their doorbells, threatening to infiltrate their established social circles. Some see them as a threat, having forgotten that every spouse was once the…
The Wailing Wall: School Grades Often Miss the Mark
It was 1991, and I was about to graduate from law school. My parents made the nine-hour drive from Pennsylvania to Michigan for the occasion, the first time since I had left home three years prior. I met them at school, eager to show them the place where I finally transitioned from child to adult….
What I believe about Hell and hand baskets