That’s the question the second grader asked me. I paused, scratched my metaphorical head, and asked her to use it in a sentence. “You know,” she said. “Like, I woodna done that if youda said not to.” I of course seized the teachable moment and explained that woodna was really two words if you didn’t […]
Follow the bouncing cat names
My husband and I are new parents again, after all these years. Here’s a closeup of the new kid: Truth be told, I could eat him with a spoon. It’s been about 35 years since I have had a kitten in the house, and the first couple days were stressful. We had to plug up […]
Adventures in the grocery store
On a recent trip to the store, I demonstrated personal growth by going back to get a cart. Our grocery store is a two-minute drive (or a ten-minute walk) from my house, so I go there frequently to just get a few things. Maybe it’s because I go there so often, combined my natural tendency […]
Of fireweed and Albus Dumbledore
During my recent dental visit, the hygienist expressed concern about one of my teeth but indicated that it did not pose an urgent problem. “My guess is it will last you another forty years,” she said with a smile. Without much conscious thought on the subject, I replied, “I don’t imagine I’ll be needing it […]
Snakes are people too
Some years ago, I (sort of) helped my sister Laura and her son Landon get two big black snakes out of Landon’s chicken house. Landon had called Laura for help, saying that he had finally figured out why twenty chickens were only giving about two eggs a day. Laura went over there, and I tagged […]
Bicycle dreams
My first memory of wheels is a tricycle I got when I was three or four. I wanted to paint it because it was a little bit rusty. My mother produced a small can of blue paint and a brush, and I went to town. I have often wondered if a bit of parental touching […]
Mary’s hair
Due to popular demand (by which I mean requests from my friend Carolyne and my sister Laura, both popular people), I am presenting here some evidence to back my past claims about my sister Mary’s hair. Take a look-see: Isn’t it wonderful? Until she was seven or eight, Mary’s hair did what you see here: […]
Admiral Richard E. Bird
Growing up as we did, in a farmhouse surrounded by enormous trees, my sisters and I encountered birds of all shapes and sizes. Not all of them got the same reaction from my family. My mother, for example, built special houses for the bluebirds, but would take after the starlings with the shotgun. The robins, […]
Holding on for dear life
This morning, I woke up wearing a furry feline hat. No, I have not gone into the business of turning pets into designer fashion. What I mean is I woke up to find my beloved, twenty-something cat Socks wrapped around my head, claws lightly gripping my forehead. My perimeter-breach alarm was just beginning to chime, […]
Let’s talk about lettuce
During my growing-up years, “lettuce” meant “iceberg lettuce,” although occasionally my mother would show up at the house with a strange, leathery substance known as “romaine.” While we grew many fruits and vegetables on the place, lettuce was apparently not among them. When a head of iceberg lettuce came into the house, there were three […]