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Meanwhile, While the Kid and I Were Listening to ‘New York, New York’ and Eating Toasty Cheese…”
“A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was” –Joseph Hall My husband recently comprehended the richness of life in a way that would have defied planning. By accompanying our daughter’s 4th grade class on a three-day field trip to the regional…
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Start Spreadin’ the News
A few weeks ago, my husband and daughter went on a three-day field trip with her 4th grade, leaving Paco and me rattling around the house with nothing but matches and beer to amuse ourselves. Nominally the adult, and in an effort to avoid situations requiring bail money, I decided to label our time together as Paco and Mamma’s Glitter-Filled…
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That Gentle Rustle You Hear? It’s the Sound of Monet Rolling Over in His Grave
“I love this place,” breathed Paco, looking around in wonder. “There are zombies and aliens everywhere.” Of course there were. We were at the end-of-semester community college art show. Speeding up to a trot, Paco cruised down the concourse, calling, “Hurry up! Here’s a Super Mario made out of mosaics! Come ON. You won’t…
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They’ve Begun To
“When two people decide to get a divorce, it isn’t a sign that they ‘don’t understand’ one another, but a sign that they have, at last, begun to.”–Helen Rowland Our next door neighbors recently signed divorce papers. In the ways that divorce can be awful, it has been. The husband has been angry, betrayed, wanting…
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You Can Tell Rough and Final Drafts of Research Papers are Hitting When I Start Vlogging Due to Limited Hours in the Day, But What I Really Mean to Say Is ‘The Calla Lilies Are In Bloom Again’
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May All Your Nothings Hold Up Something and Sing
As an agnostic, I’m open to possibility, skeptical of surety, and don’t feel too judgmental about anyone’s version of what happens after death. Sudden blackness? I am blinded by the idea of it. Transcendence to Heaven? The notion transports me. Limbo? My opinion hangs in the balance. Reincarnation? I’ll get back to you next…
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Police Files
There’s the famous Nick Nolte mug shot, taken after a particularly fine night of driving under the influence: And then there’s the photo Groom took of me yesterday when he was setting up a backdrop and stool for his latest digital photography class assignment of “taking portraits.” Trust me, I wasn’t his true subject.…
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It’s Not Br’er Rabbit, I’ll Tell You That Much
Gracious, but I’m having Race Around the State for Work week here! I spent last Thursday through Saturday in Minneapolis, attending the faculty union State Delegate Assembly, which is always a hoot (as we say here in the Midwest when we’re not busy stabbing each other with niceness); at this Delegate Assembly, for several hours, I got…
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Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginning’s End
So we have the possibility of Prague on the horizon. The family is interested in exchanging but would need a local university to “invite” the father, who will be on sabbatical too, to come here under its umbrella. Thus far, one local economics department has turned him down. He doesn’t require any pay–just the invitation so…
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Bless Me and Keep me
When I first had kids, exercise became the Sole Protected Hour in my day. Although I was on call around the clock with breastfeeding, peek-a-booing, and tushie wiping, when I was out for a run or at the gym, my time was my own, uninterrupted by others’ needs. I became so vehement about not…
