The Last Mother's Day

I went shopping for the last Mother’s Day gift I ever bought about a week before the actual holiday, which at the time was me exercising a g...

Rose Tree

Four years ago, in the spring of '06, my Dad and I planted this tree as our commemorative Mom Plant. Planting stuff is a way of commemor...

Cold Comforts

Yesterday was a startling reminder of what autumn has in store for us in NY—cool, windy, damp, with unidentifiable allergens flying around. ...

The Big Wave

An irritating thing that I encounter when I leave New York is the broad application of the word “different.” My family has been doing this f...

RIP, PamPlant

Two summers ago—if we can stretch the imagination so that right now counts as summer—I planted a Lantana bush/shrub at the waterfront park i...

Skiing; Mom, 51; Beef Bourguignon

When the conditions are right, is there anything better than snow skiing? What a luxurious sport—I mean, you’re whisked up—gestured, really—...

I don’t hate Mother’s Day

I’m going to use Mother’s Day this year, first, to bemoan the lack of women in my life. Yes, most of my friends are women, but there is a th...

Idaho the Innovator

I suddenly recalled a program that my mom had helped organize when my brother was in elementary school, where students asked friends and fam...

Birthday ramblings

There are a lot of holidays on which I aim to spend a few minutes being reflective. My birthday was never really one of those "holiday...