I couldn’t remember the last time Snoopy had lain so quietly in my arms, allowing me to softly stroke his wiry fur. I buried my nose in his ears, which have always been the softest, silkiest part of him. For months now he had been content only when walking with Cheryl or sleeping. The rest […]
We used to sit on the lifeguard chair on lazy summer nights, hold hands and watch the stars. The voices from the boardwalk and sounds of Coney Island fun were the background for our conversations. We would talk about school and then later, when we were older, about the future. The summer before he left […]
I’m not a winter woman. The cold, the dark, the endless nights — not for me. When I was a child I loved winter because I loved playing in the snow. I can still see the mountains of ice on the New York City streets looming higher than our building. We would climb them thrilled […]
On Monday mornings Kathleen leads a non-stop workout class. She crams more into an hour than anyone else I know. In other classes, if I see there are only five minutes left, I know the end is near. But Kathleen can fit in at least five more bone-crunching, muscle-rending, soul-scorching moves — all guaranteed to […]
Looking back on my youngest daughter’s wedding, I realize that much drama centered on her dress. Buying the dress turned out to be relatively simple. When Mariel was still in grad school in Arizona she and a good friend went shopping and came home the same day with a dress. No muss, no fuss — […]
Every Sunday night I check my calendar for the week ahead. Any important appointments? Anything coming up that I had forgotten about? That’s why I check before the week starts — I learned my lesson when I turned the page too late one Monday and found that I had missed an early morning appointment. Mom […]
Nostalgia is a dirty word when you’ve reached a certain age — especially when your past has become a playground for the younger set. People go to parties dressed in ’60s costumes (hey guys, that was what I wore every day) and the latest movies extol how much fun getting dressed in the ’70s was. […]
I’m an incurable romantic. I’m a sap for mushy movies, happy endings, couples persevering against all odds. I savor transformations of ugly ducklings and Cinderellas. I want to believe that there is a partner for everyone because it would make me too sad to think that there wasn’t. That’s why despite the fact that it […]
I love to shop. I always have. I can remember spending my time in a candy store deciding just where to spend my nickel. I remember haunting the toy store across the street from where we lived in Brooklyn, Fain’s Toys. It was my idea of kid heaven, living across the street from a toy […]
It had been a wonderful vacation because both my girls were in town for 12 days. It’s funny how parents of older children measure their kids’ at-home times. I didn’t realize it until my friend Peg told me that she had a great vacation because her daughter had come home for 11 days. Almost like […]
