This is not a picture of me. This lady might have been my mama. I am thrilled that though I was born in the fifties, I have a fridge with about twice that capacity, plus a giant freezer which I love and keep quite full. It’s one of those nights when there isn’t much food in the house, but I want to make a nice dinner for me and my husband. Checking the fridge, […]
In my work with mothers of newborns, sleep and the lack of it is a critical factor. These women are so tired: bone-weary, lid drooping, mind wandering tired. And yet somehow they go on. Mothers keep doing what needs to be done past what feels like human capacity. I see it regularly, and I remember it well. The intensity of it never completely leaves you. As they talk to me, as I watch their faces […]
Steve and I sneaked in a few minutes late to the annual celebration of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. The accordion player was already in full form. We tiptoed to our saved seats of honor, only to be warned away by a woman with permanently surprised eyebrows drawn on. “That place is for Mrs. Litfin!!” she hissed. We assured her Mrs. Litfin had directed us to these seats and sat down to enjoy the quasi- […]
I got a speeding ticket a few months ago. It was humiliating and expensive. And it made me think. Why am I in such a hurry? Well, that particular day I was a little late to work, but I realized that hurrying had become a way of life. I’ll do this “real quick”; that’ll just take a minute; hmm, I have five minutes what can I squeeze in? Maybe I don’t need to do everything […]
A handful of quietness 