My Blog
Tiny, Beautiful Things
Monumental events are making the news lately. We just finished the 2016 US election, a super moon hangs low on the night sky, the Cubs won, and Brad and Angie are officially kaput. At least one of these seems to have the country's mood in its clutches, kind of like...
Writing & Other Acts of Bravery
"I am a writer." I said that out loud to a stranger earlier this year and immediately glanced around to see if the store's security was hurrying forward. I must have been blushing because I felt my face get hot and my stomach somersaulting--kind of like being...
Something Fishy
This summer, photographer Tim Samuel was freediving off the coast of Australia when he happened by a curious sight: a fish stuck inside a jellyfish. Who knows how the poor guy got into this predicament--a lost bet?, a quick dart for cover?-- but there he was,...
Getting Carded
I have a relic in the corner of my dining room, a dinosaur that I often have to explain to younger visitors. They mistake it for a toolbox or curious storage cabinet. "This," I say, running my hand across the rectangular drawers, "is a card catalog. It's how we used...
Too Quiet
The rules of physics shift when we become parents. Somehow the airwaves change and we are suddenly tuned in to sound in a new way. Noise is now a thing we both fear and crave. A baby can scream non-stop for two hours from colic or exhaustion or teething, fraying...
Just a Minute
I had a solid grasp of time before I became a parent. I knew how to keep appointments, schedule my day, and meet deadlines. Time was my minion. It was just lying in wait to stage a coup, it turns out. Once the babies arrived, it was all about the clock. Meal time,...