They handed her to me, still covered in the fluids of birth.  She might have been an angel sent directly from heaven.  10 fingers.  10 toes.  Two tiny, little ears.  She was perfect in every way.

And somehow, eighteen years later, she’s all grown up.  The time passed at once quickly and slowly:  lazy days  . . . lightning years.  In a singularly long blink of an eye, her childhood is over and now, at least in the eyes of the law, she’s an adult. (more…)

Uncertainty is in the air in my house.  Out of our five children, four of them will be attending new schools next year.  The amazing thing is that we have no idea what schools.  What college, what high schools, what elementary school?  We’ve pretty much got the educational span covered. (more…)

I recently had a SMM (Seasonal Meal with Mom) with my daughter Victoria.  As we listened to mariachi music, she looked intently into my eyes and asked, “Mom, would you change anything about your past if you had your life to live over?” (more…)

It starts the minute they turn 15 ½: “Mom, can I drive?”  I just survived this rite of passage 2 years ago, and now here we go again with my son Channing.

We start with the empty parking lots.  Next the quiet cul-de-sacs.  We graduate to back-country roads, then busier streets, then rush hour traffic.  I have learned to relax the grip on the door and refrain from screaming, “slow down!” (more…)

Ah, the Fourth of July . . . hot dogs on the grill, brownies, fireworks, flags, and parades.  What a wonderful celebration of our ancestors’ break from the British Empire and the creation of a new nation. (more…)