I wish I had a dollar for each time my father asked me, “What were you thinking?” I spent more time in silence after this question than the collective moments of quiet I grudgingly accumulated in church. Answering your father’s “What were you thinking?” inquiry, well, you may as well throw a live grenade straight… Read more »
Having a first child is like throwing a hand grenade into a marriage. —Nora Ephron, Heartburn I’ve been reading a lot about Nora Ephron recently. Her death shocked and saddened the entire island of Manhattan, the country, and perhaps the world. I have yet to read Heartburn, her 1983 roman à clef about husband, Carl Bernstein… Read more »
Given the mobility of American families (making a nearby grandparent a luxury) and the absence of public day-care options, a significant number of children (and not only those born into the 1 percent) are raised—at least for a few years—by paid helpers. —Mona Simpson, The New York Times Magazine I came across Mona Simpson’s feature… Read more »
Having a daughter is a pure romance in itself, where you are in love with your child but completely non-possessive. It’s different to any relationship I’ve had. It’s on a higher level of purity. Closer to divine love. It’s made me aware of a capacity for love that I wasn’t aware I possessed, and that’s one of the few… Read more »
Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare. — Ed Asner A few years ago I went to meet my husband Ross for lunch. He was in the midst of a 48-hour weekend Dalai Lama lecture, meaning that for two days he was listening to words of wisdom from the Tibetan spiritual leader. Ross brought some… Read more »
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. —Lucius Annaeus Seneca…and Robert Evans In homage to the woman who inspired this blog, Joanne Woodward, I wanted to share the fact that I’ve accomplished two non-Harry related things in the last few weeks. The first is that I completed my thesis. Hallelujah! The second is that I… Read more »
Just jump on the moving train and try not to die. —Chris Rock, What to Expect When You’re Expecting I’ve been on a speeding train for the last couple of months, but I think (key word: think) it’s going to slow down a bit this summer—a mixed blessing. While it would be nice to unpack… Read more »
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’ — C.S. Lewis Last Saturday, I left Harry at home with his Dad and flew to Chicago for some best friend R&R. My friend (nickname: The Little Lady) is getting married, and so… Read more »
Motherhood is not a job. —Elizabeth Gardner My good friend sent me a link to a brilliant Op-Ed by Elizabeth Gardner about motherhood that was published in the Chicago Tribune on April 18th. My friend has two children—two very small children. Somehow, she manages to raise both babies and work part-time as a lawyer. As you… Read more »
“Fear eats the soul.” ~from Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, a film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder On Saturday I cried over a spinning class. That’s right: a spinning class. Let me explain. I try to attend the local YMCA’s spinning class twice a week. It soothes my soul. Spinning is literally so hard that I can’t think… Read more »
