Every now and then, I see an ancient photo about the Holocaust, read a story about a survivor, or watch a movie such as The Pianist.

What must it have been like for Wladyslaw Szpilman, hiding from the Germans, being the target of such atrocities, the genocide, to see it happen to… Read full post »

My son D. once got an ant farm for his birthday from a friend. I remember being intrigued—I had heard about the miraculous things these little social insects could do. And imagine being able to watch their whole world create itself, in a microcosm in D.'s sunny bedroom.

We had to… Read full post »

An instructor pronounced this to my Bikram Yoga class, as we were sweating our way through the floor series: You should not be stressed in yoga. As he said this, strands of my hair were plastered to my face and neck because I dropped my headband somewhere in the locker room. I had/… Read full post »

An instructor pronounced this to my Bikram Yoga class, as we were sweating our way through the floor series: You should not be stressed in yoga. As he said this, strands of my hair were plastered to my face and neck because I dropped my headband somewhere in the locker room. I had/… Read full post »

If you ever decide to do a 21-day detox or cleanse, I have some advice for you.

My first pearl of wisdom: Don’t do it!

Imagine, three weeks with no coffee, soda, sugar, and wheat. Three weeks without protein that walked about on two or four legs. No prepared or packaged foods—no… Read full post »

My grandmother Inez lived to the age of 93.

We called her “Mamoo,” because my older sister couldn’t say “Grandma” as a little kid. I remember being embarrassed as a teenager calling my grandmother that. It sounded silly—but somehow it suited her.

I a… Read full post »

My grandmother Inez lived to the age of 93.

We called her “Mamoo,” because my older sister couldn’t say “Grandma” as a little kid. I remember being embarrassed as a teenager calling my grandmother that. It sounded silly—but somehow it suited her.

I a… Read full post »

I’m wandering through Sports Authority, through a maze of Tec-Wick, Dry-Fit, and Nalgene bottles, wondering what to get Dad for Christmas. It’s Saturday morning, and the line is already snaking down the center aisle, past the racks of sunglasses and Power Bars and Marmot gloves.

It’… Read full post »

In 1991, when I graduated from college, I moved to Michigan for the summer. I felt very grown up cruising out of New England, diploma in hand, in my first real car.

I was proud of my silver Chevy Cavalier. It was the first car I ever signed for, and I… Read full post »

I spend a lot of time in rental cars, because I am on the road a lot for work. Usually, I end up in something incredibly exciting such as a Chevy Malibu or a Ford Fusion. This week, however, when I went to pick up my wheels, the agent said, “I… Read full post »

You sleep until almost 9:00 am because you are exhausted—four days into school, 30 days into football, and your team went to watch the UNH/Holy Cross game last night. The bus didn’t pull into the school lot until 12:30 am. You haven’t taken Driver’s Ed yet, so I had to sit… Read full post »

The animal-drama is getting a bit out of hand.

Earlier this summer, we found a baby fawn that could barely walk. We watched him trail after his mother for a few weeks. She taught him valuable lessons such as how to deal with our wire fence: she’d leap over it gracefully,… Read full post »

I once saw a Hummer on the highway that was the color of buttercream. It was hard to truly see the car’s color, because the whole thing was covered in mud. The license plate said “EATDIRT.”

I’m generally not a mudder.

I did go out mudding in my friend's Jeep once.… Read full post »

I’m in Provincetown, MA, the extreme tip of Cape Cod, for the week. P-town is extreme in a lot of ways—it feels almost surreal to be in this distinct center of art and culture in early August—with ten thousand other people, no less. I’m here taking a five-day poetry workshop a… Read full post »

On Friday night, I drove up 93 North with my boyfriend D. and my son D., on my way to see my Dad (whose middle initial is D.), and all I could think was how lucky I was to be able to spend a Friday night with my three favorite guys.… Read full post »

Summer has finally come to New Hampshire. With each new season there’s always something new going on in the yard. First, it was turkeys madly poking about, looking for insects and nuts—all the while pooping on our patio and giving our cat Tuna a veritable heart attack as she watched them… Read full post »

I announced last night to my almost 15-year-old son D. that I had great plans for us for Mother’s Day.

“There is something we are going to do together tomorrow, and we are going to have a lot of fun, and we are going to do it without a single complaint… Read full post »

There has been a war going on in my house. Well, maybe not so much a war, but a major disagreement.

If you ask my 14-year-old son, he would say things are just fine. He’s in perfect alignment with the adolescent that he is and has great clarity on what he wants.… Read full post »

I was leaving work a few weeks ago, walking down the block, when I heard a car alarm going off. “Gee, I hope that’s not mine,” I said, half joking. But as I walked toward the parking garage, I saw the taillights of my Nissan Murano were lit. “That’s weird,” I… Read full post »

My mother’s Pyrex 508 one-cup measuring cup has been loved. The once-red writing has faded to white, and the 1/4 cup measure mark on the glass has completely disappeared. You can still see the 1-cup mark pretty clearly, and have a hint of the 2/3. But I use the cup anyway because I've/… Read full post »

I hope I touch the bottom of my mega-sized holiday peanut M&M bag. I know I won’t find happiness there, so all I can wish is that my fingers will soon touch plastic and I’ll find only tiny bits of chocolate shell remaining. At that moment, I’ll start my new-year eating regi… Read full post »

It’s quite convenient that my son D. no longer believes in Santa Claus. He’s 14, and eventually it came time for him to face the reality of the brutal, responsibility-laden life of being an adult. Might as well start the training now.

Sure, some of the holiday magic went out with… Read full post »

My sister took the call from the Veteran’s Home. Our father wasn’t cooperating in taking his medications; he was outright refusing them at times. Shocking.

Our dad has always been a bit stubborn—he has a righteous sense of justice, and a clear idea of what he will do and not do.… Read full post »

Dear Hives:

What are you thinking? Here I have been battling with you for over a year and you seem to be back with a vengeance. What the heck are you doing to me? Trying to get my attention? You have it!

Dear Kellie:

Please don’t yell at us. We are all… Read full post »