A Modern Family Christmas

I thought the story would be the nose ring.  I was almost certain I knew my mother’s reaction.  I heard her, as I sat in the back room of the Wilmington tattoo parlor, after I felt the needle pierce my skin, go, “Oh , darling, why did you do that to your nose?” Yes, I know.  Women my age are taking out their nose rings, not putting them in.  Correction.  Women my age took out their nose rings ten, if not twenty – years ago.  I was prepared for the inquisition as to why, her daughter, a responsible adult, with … Continue reading

The Bridge

I have six good memories of my father. When I was four, we spent the winter in Florida, and my dad bought me an ice cream sandwich for the good behavior I displayed one morning while running errands with him.  There was the time, also in Florida, that he saved me from being stuck in an elevator by myself.   After a drinking binge with my friends, as a teenager, where a drunken fall caused me to chip my front tooth, my father, a dentist by profession, took me to his office that night and bonded up the chip, without once … Continue reading

What If I Told You

Photo Credit: http://www.blogactionday.org What if I told you that 26.7 of% of children living in Brunswick County, North Carolina, where I now live, suffer from food insecurity?  What exactly does that mean?  Put bluntly, they do not know where they will find their next meal. What if I told you that 1 year after Hurricane Sandy devastated my former neighboring town of Union Beach, New Jersey, many residents have still not been able to rebuild, due to lack of insurance funds or FEMA funds or, have left families, in financial ruin, with no option but to walk away from their homes? … Continue reading

Modern Family

“Are there any Jewish people here?” My mother asks, over her vanilla yogurt and Swiss cheese sandwich. “I think there are a few in the gated community up the road,” I say, clearing dishes off the table. “Well that’s a relief,” my mom says.  “How did you hear?” “The Jews have secret smoke signals down here, Mom, ones that the Klan don’t recognize.” “Ilene…” my ex-husband says.  It’s the warning call, the one where he tells me to back off.  Just the use of the word Klan is feeding into my mother’s fear that I’ve moved myself and her grandchildren … Continue reading

I Heart Robert

He had a William Shatner thing going.  He was older than me, by at least twenty years, but young, nice jeans, good shoes, great smelling cologne that I caught a whiff of as he whizzed by with his tool box.  He sang to himself as he walked from his van to my front door. I was in denial about my dryer, the rattling that got louder and louder that one week, during softball season where there was mud on all of my daughter’s clothes.   With a family of five, Laundromat was a dirty word.  I desperately called around to … Continue reading

Go For It!

Do you know when you have big news to announce or you’ve just begun a new endeavor and people can’t be happy for you?  Like that time you decided to go back to school, start a business, or take up surfing? Doesn’t that stink? Naysayers.  We all have them in our lives, and it’s often someone close to us, either a friend or a spouse or a family member who shows little, if no support for something in that matters to us. Even worse, sometimes these people seem completely against what we’re doing. Today, I’m talking about how I handle … Continue reading

The Good Neighbor

I can’t think of any better way to welcome today’s guest of honor than to serve wine and lots of it.  And Nachos.  For, those are the refreshments Alexa and I bonded over at Bloggy Boot Camp in Charlotte last month. One of the best parts of attending BBC was getting to meet so many wonderful bloggers in real life, and Alexa is just as delightful in person as she is on her blog No Holding Back. I can really relate to the story she tells below.  Can you?   I have not been a good friend the past few years. … Continue reading

Fierce Parenting: Listening Changes Everything

We’re mingling again! This time, Adrienne is here!  Adrienne was one of my early friends in the blog world, who I believe I met through Shell’s Pour Your Heart Out weekly link up.  There’s nothing like eating chocolate when we pour our hearts out to friends, in real life or virtual (is there a difference, though?  My blog friends are my real friends), or drinking coffee or wine.  So, that’s what I’m serving up today in honor of Adrienne.  I love this woman.  She is kind, wise, and has a strong and admirable faith.  I learn so much from her every time … Continue reading

Thirty Years and One Day

  “Where’s my cell phone?  Have you seen my cell phone?” He looked at me with vague recognition as he gripped the edges of the overbed table and turned his torso with effort. “Don’t strain,” I said, “I’ll help you find it.” I searched through the nightstand and standard issue bedspread, reeking of bleach and staleness and under a chair.  And as I brought my head back up from the floor to meet his, it dawned on him. “It’s you.” With folded arms he turned away. He didn’t want me there.  I knew he didn’t want me there, but I … Continue reading

The Misconception About Philanthropy

  Today’s mixer is BYOB! That would be, “Bring your own bacon.”Today’s guest of honor, Jennifer Barbour, is a bacon lover, pie hater, mom to two boys and three dogs, and all around do-gooder.   If you haven’t checked out Jennifer’s blog at anotherjennifer.com, it’s definitely worth the read.  Jennifer writes about motherhood, living in Maine, blogging, social media, and she also lends her voice to an abundance of worthy causes, through her Philanthropy Friday series.   I am so happy to have Jennifer here on my page today.  Please give her a warm welcome! photo credit  When I worked for a nonprofit, I was the person … Continue reading