Last week, Hollywood icon and occasional social activist Gwyneth Paltrow took on Mario Batali’s #FoodBankNYCChallenge to live on a food stamp budget of $29 for one week. For me, this conjures an image of the statuesque starlet hauling her sustainably produced, fair trade, organic canvas shopping totes down to Whole Foods for nothing more than […]
What was the thing with sports, again?
There have been times when the worry that I have screwed up one of my kids keeps me up at night. Then one of them will say or do something to make me realize (a) any mom guilt I carry around is probably unwarranted, because (b) everyone I’ve raised likely stopped paying attention to me […]
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They really only want us to be happy
A friend shared an article recently on the psychology of happiness; how experiences matter more to our long-term joy than material items. Good thing this wasn’t one of those list articles. You know: 17 ways I’d know happiness if it hit me like a city bus. Or a quiz to determine how much of a […]
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I clearly have shirt issues
As awesome as a well-organized run event can be, there’s one little thing that bums me out almost every time. I’ll give you one guess. No I won’t. It’s the damn t-shirt. A couple weeks ago, Mike and I ran in an event that was new to the area. We steeled ourselves to be patient. […]
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The totally tall tail of a traitorous tee
One afternoon last week I was in a rush to get to a meeting. I’d been wearing workout clothes all day, trying to summon the motivation to exercise. By the time I realized that sort of thing wasn’t going to spontaneously happen, I had just enough time to shower and dress. The two meetings I […]
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No, YOU take a number
This was the week. I couldn’t put Jack off any longer with the whole driver’s license thing. It was spring break, so we’d finally be available during the window that the DMV is open for testing. Jack had fulfilled the long list of requirements I had for chauffeuring him to that end of town – […]
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Here’s the thing about spring break
It was about this time last year when I mentioned to our exchange student, Guillermo, that we’d be taking a trip to Argentina next spring and hoped to visit his family. Ever since I’d left Mike and the kids for a month-long exchange to Buenos Aires, exactly ten years ago, I’ve been itching to go back […]
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The dude on the doorstep
Last weekend, I spent a considerable amount of time mulling over what to put in the subject line for a neighborhood email. What was called for, I think, was just the right amount of urgency tempered with calm concern. I didn’t want to start a panic. “How about ‘Everybody, grab your pitchforks and meet us […]
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Crafts that will make your kids hate you: Repurposed pharmacy bags
The other day I realized we were out of brown paper lunch bags for Jack. Because we’re a family of quasi-hoarders, we had a readily available alternative: There are downsides, of course, to sending your kid to school looking like he’s hauling a bag of prescriptions. Which means Mike and I spent a few minutes debating whether it […]
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Orthodontorture actually IS a word
When I picked the boys up from the dentist the other day the news was good and then … not so good. “No cavities,” the hygienist said. Then, pointing at Colin: “I wonder if it’s time for him to see an orthodontist.” I can answer that, just based on my own powers of observation, and […]
