-
When Worlds Collide
Below is a screen shot of our family google calendar for Wednesdays from 5-8 pm. This is the result of my prudent effort of allowing my kids only one sport per season: It may be a bit difficult to read, with all of those overlapping events. So, I’ll break it down for you: 5-8 Track Meet 6:00 Swim Lessons 6:00 Soccer Practice 6:15 Lacross Practice
-
I once thought Lincoln Logs were natural toys
We were reluctantly roped into this adventure by an unrelenting 5-year-old, that spent a little too much time looking at the suspiciously hand-drawn (note that the author had no actual pictures) of 3-d sculptures made from sticks and moss in the book Nature’s Art Box. By the end of two hours, however, each one of us were privately engulfed in a world that revealed the challenges that architects and engineers must face daily, with a fleeting glimpse into the magical world of miniature, where toads, bugs and maybe fairies habitat our world right along beside us. “I wonder who just might live here?†Certainly not a frog, I was reminded;…
-
To my lake neighbors not present
My first clue came when I noticed the boys were spending extended amounts of time outside; with their shoes off. Then, I realized what was happening when I saw a fly perched on the windowsill, and it was not dead. Spring arrived at the lake. Remember that one tree branch that always bugs Dave when he’s sitting on the deck looking out at the lake? He took care of it. No EMS visit was needed. Our “friendly†neighbor (you know who I’m talking about) sauntered on over carrying a single stray sandal; about a man’s size 15 and wanted to know if it was ours. Angel, apparently had carried it…
-
Original Fast Food
While the events here are true, initials have been changed to represent middle names. The newspapers I have been saving since January are in Dave’s car, and should arrive around 4 o’clock today. I would have brought them myself yesterday, but there was no room left to pack them in my car, after the groceries, clothes, cooler and 5 passengers were loaded. (Actually, the days are messed up… I arrived several days ago; that’s how it is when you write things days ago, and you have no wifi. Primitive, I know.) We left around 2 in the afternoon, between meals, and I knew the kids would be hungry about one…
-
First, comes the purging
Separating clutter from sentiment is not so easy. From my newspaper column. When the first warm breeze blows into our long, bitter winter, my boys are sure that this is the signal of the end. Within minutes, they’ve scrambled to the attic, pulled the lids off the storage tubs, and are soon wearing their long lost and forgotten t-shirts and shorts. It is only March, and Ohio weather can turn bitter cold in a span of just a few hours. Yet, the boys believe, with all their hearts that summer has settled into the earth for good. The tangled mess of clothes they’ve left, running like a river down the…
-
Warm Gelatin is Underrated
Instead of chicken soup, my Mom brought me cups of warm gelatin to nourish me back to life when I was sick. The perfect princess drink: delicate, but strong, with a full body, that was thick enough not to spill when you tried to sip it sitting up in bed. This drink was especially nice if your throat was sore, and easy to digest if your tummy hurt. I was eternally grateful every time it came to me in a tea cup. When warm, gelatin is thick and rich — and warm and comforting. Using jello as a health food wasn’t that wacky of an idea. Gelatin is made from…
-
Sometimes I can feel the Earth’s Rotation
I’m wondering if all of that stuff about Guinness cake restoring your strength/your reserves is true. Because I really need one. I’d like to test it. However, I can’t manage a clear spot on my day long enough to allow me the joy of making that cake; Mom, where are you when I need you? Could you just whip one up for your tired, exhausted daughter? This cake is not something you can run out and pick up at the bakery. Only a friend, a wife, or a Mom makes these things. Eventually, you learn to live without, to forget, to not bother, to not pay attention to what you…
-
Spring Break Survival Book List
We will not be heading anywhere close to warmth for this spring break. We’re counting on mother nature to bless us with unseasonably warm temperatures while we spend time hanging out and avoiding alarm clocks. Some of our time will be spent at the lake, some here, just playing it by ear. The no agenda plan, is relaxing enough. Free time, for the boys, will eventually, and naturally evolve into something that involves conquering something. This will definitely be “at odds” with what the other brother is conquering. At times, the conquest may just be a brother. To ensure that the conquest will not remain, for the entire break, on…
-
Mom, I miss the lake
I do too sweetie. I do too. I spent some time last night talking with a woman describing her children’s annual summer treks to a friend’s lake house; over decades: “The kids spent all day building some project, canoeing, fishing, or playing. Then they would all show up at noon to eat; and we had so much food set out. Then the kids would devour everything, so fast, and then they’d disappear until dinner time. Then they’d eat again, and disappear, and we would have to call them in at bedtime, because they didn’t want to come back inside. My kids think that lake is heaven.” She didn’t say it,…
Writer
