IT support for grandma

I usually call my mother on Sunday evening, but the Friday before Labor Day weekend and before her birthday, she called to say that her phone wasn’t charging, she couldn’t figure out why, and that it might die before she could get to the phone store. The store was far and it was a holiday … Continue reading IT support for grandma →

time is not on my side: college edition

Ours is a family that tends to hold on to things. The kids haven’t played with their Legos in over five years, but there’s an entire room in the basement dedicated to their thousands of pieces, along with their Playmobil sets and other toys. My husband and I don’t insist that they get rid of … Continue reading time is not on my side: college edition →

Hamnet, or the art of letting go

[Warning: spoilers ahead!] My husband and I finally watched Hamnet, the film adaptation of the novel of the same name, and one of the last of the Oscar-nominated movies on our watchlist. I’d read the book a couple of years ago, so I felt prepared for the tragedy at the center of the story; but … Continue reading Hamnet, or the art of letting go →

the power of protest

I can’t get enough of the images of the Minnesota anti-ICE general strike that took place yesterday. Tens of thousands of ordinary people gathering in subfreezing temperatures to protest lawless state violence against citizens and noncitizens alike. The murder of Renee Good may have been the catalyzing event, but this was weeks in the making. … Continue reading the power of protest →

goodbye, friend

At first the words confused me. I had glanced at my phone as we were waiting to pay and leave the restaurant, and wondered why my friend Dave was posting about himself in the third person until the meaning of the words sank in: “great sadness,” “passing of my brother…” “Oh, no” I blurted out. … Continue reading goodbye, friend →

I will always miss L.A.

After college, I spent most of the ‘90s in California, eight years in Southern California, five of them in Los Angeles. I’ve only been back a handful of times in the past 25 years since my husband and I left to come back east for jobs in 2000. The photographs and videos of the wild … Continue reading I will always miss L.A. →

the language of birds and comparative death studies

What does the natural world care about elections and other human activities that feel so consequential to us? Two recent New Yorker articles about animals captivated me; they hit on similar themes that, each in their own way, remind us that we are not as special as we like to think. In “Pecking Order: Language … Continue reading the language of birds and comparative death studies →

mind and body

When my father fell ill, around 2002, I moved in temporarily with my parents on Long Island while my husband moved to Indiana for a visiting assistant professorship for the year. My father was in both physical and cognitive decline and I found his two doctors woefully inadequate. I had a long list of tasks … Continue reading mind and body →

#18 – october 21: lingering covid

I’m wrapping up my covid chronicles with this18th and final installment. Maybe I’ll revisit the topic later, when these pandemic times truly feel behind us. But right now, almost three years in, covid is still here and people are still dying everyday. Most of the world, however, is getting on with it, the booster shots … Continue reading #18 – october 21: lingering covid →

#17 – february 8: the tyranny of normal

2019. I look back at photos from that time with a bit of wonder. My 50th birthday celebration at a Chicago restaurant with friends who’d traveled from other cities. Our spring break trip to Korea with my mother. The kids’ birthday parties at one venue or another. Our then-6th grader’s first middle school dance. One … Continue reading #17 – february 8: the tyranny of normal →