Years ago, when my children were little and I was zealous about breastfeeding, my eldest son and I took a trip to a local dairy farm. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me until that moment, but the farmer explained how we get milk to drink: a cow must be impregnated and then her baby must be taken… Read more →
Category: the world around me
Let’s Truly Live: The Tragically Hip, a funeral and a lot of love
Last night was the final concert of the Tragically Hip in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Tickets were $10. Wearing a denim jacket, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hugged lead singer Gord Downie, whose diagnosis of terminal brain cancer inspired the distinctly Canadian band to launch its farewell tour, which ended last night. Read about it here. The concert was… Read more →
The Class of a Class
A friend of mine is in dire straits, lying in a hospital in another state, fighting for her life. A friend I’ve known since I was 11, with whom I laughed, got silly, went to dances, cruised on senior spring break, and shared many a conversation that ended in smiles. She was that friend, the funny one, the one you could… Read more →
One Step Away
After the pool closed and my children were all home for the night, my daughter asked me to walk with her to the party store down the street. She wanted to buy candy and chips for our vacation drive. She wanted me to experience the walking with her, the calm procession from our house, past three other houses, and over… Read more →
A Mouse in My House
I opened the closet door in the kitchen and saw little black droppings on the floor. When I looked closer, knowing what it was, not wanting to admit it, I noticed a bag of corn chips was chewed open at the bottom. No question. A mouse had moved in. I called the exterminator who comes quarterly and panicked into the… Read more →
What’s In a Name?
Throughout my life, I have responded to various names – Lynnie is a favorite of my dad and my former next-door neighbor, while my little sister called me onnie because she couldn’t say the L for her first few years. As we grew older, my siblings alternated between calling me Lance, Leo, Lou, Lynnie Lou by Lollipops and other monikers based on… Read more →
A Walk in the Woods
early March, Heritage Park, weekday afternoon How can you capture the way the wind sounds the simple tweet of a bird as it flutters by I walk in the woods on a cool afternoon alone but not alone content but not content little pieces of ice on wood chips on the path the path looks different the angle of the… Read more →