Annabelle turned 13 today. For the last several weeks I teased my first born, asking if she was planning to turn on me the day she became a teenager. “Eh, maybe,” she replied last week, tossing off one of those looks I used to give my own mother several times a day, long before Resting […]
An accomplished attorney named Dick Segal passed away this spring. He had lots of fancy titles and accolades, but to me, he’ll always be Dick Se., father of my oldest and dearest friend. When Amy Segal and I met in Mrs. King’s second grade class at Hopi Elementary School in Phoenix, it was over a […]
I lucked out on the morning of Christmas Eve and happened to be in the car — by myself — when NPR’s Morning Edition played its annual excerpts from David Sedaris’ “Santaland Diaries.” It was the 20th anniversary of the original broadcast of an essay that ultimately made Sedaris a household name (well, in my […]
“Do you love your sister?!” Sophie asked the other day, out of the blue. “Um, yeah, of course I love Aunt Jenny,” I replied. “Tell her!” Hmmm. That might be tough. The only time in recent memory the phrase “I love you” was used in conversation with my younger sister, it was at the end […]
I have a crush on a fish. If you know me at all (and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it here once or twice) this might sound strange, because I have had a fish phobia pretty much my entire life. As in I will not eat fish (or anything that comes “from the sea” — and […]
I have to admit that I was devastated by Sophie’s comment the other night that she doesn’t want to have kids. And a tiny bit relieved. But mostly upset. For as long as I can remember, Sophie’s begged for a baby of her own. (I did a piece about it for KJZZ/NPR in 2007.) We […]
Many years ago, my colleague Paul Rubin profiled a local pediatric cardiac surgeon for our paper, Phoenix New Times. The headline was “Prince of Hearts.” But to me, it’s Paul who’s the prince of hearts. Maybe even the king. You should read his article about Michael Teodori. It’s a wonderful piece of journalism, well written and the […]
I spotted this list on Frances’ blog a few weeks ago, and made a note to share it today, Annabelle’s 11th birthday. Apparently F. Scott Fitzgerald’s daughter, Scottie, grew up and wrote for The New Yorker and The Washington Post — and avoided her parents’ mental illness. Sounds pretty good to me. And so here […]
Really, after a certain age, what does one get one’s mother for her birthday? After exhausting my sister’s brilliant idea that began several years ago with “40 Things We Love About Aunt Amy,” we’d run through the whole family (our mom included) and desperately needed a new schtick. Enter the Mamafesto. A while back, my […]
Dear Sophie: Happy birthday! I cannot believe that you are 9 today (even though we have been talking about your birthday for months) and some days, I cannot believe that I am your mom. Or that I am a mom at all. I am so lucky. Also tired and exasperated — and sometimes not as nice as I should be. […]
