For the Love of Cooking

This old boyfriend of mine used to mock the contents of my refrigerator.  Whenever he’d come over, he’d make a big deal of opening the door just to see it there was anything new in there.  And there never was –just one dried-out jar of mustard, an old bottle of champagne and about 26 packets of [...]

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Camper Gone Missing

 
 
 
 “How are you doing?  Don’t you just miss her so much?”  This was the third such phone call I’d gotten in the first 24 hours since my nine year old left for her first week at camp.
 
“Yeah, I miss her a lot.  It feels weird without her.”  I replied. But I was faking it. The [...]

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The Hypochondriac and the Crack Doctor

Here’s what happens when you cross a hypochondriac with the only small town doctor that her crack health care insurance covers: 
 
I’d been having this hip pain which I attributed to my running hunched over with a crooked hip from my scoliosis (ahhh Deenie, yes I think of her often).  After one late night of internet [...]

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Choosing a Clique Wisely

“So how do you like it here?” she said pouring me more coffee.
 
I’d been here less than six months when I was invited for coffee by a mom I didn’t know.  She was tall, blonde, and liked to talk about martinis and golf.  Other than that, her invitation was as unfamiliar as she was.  [...]

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Garage Sale of a Lifetime

 
Hosting a garage sale is one wicked-ass test of emotional fitness. I discovered this over the weekend after displaying all the tangible evidence of my life on the driveway for strangers to come pick through and haggle over. I barely survived it.
 
I watched this one woman scrutinize my daughter’s little navy dress with the white polka dots.  Elizabeth wore it ten [...]

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Some Summer Things to Do

 
 
 
School is out.  Thank god.  I can’t take any more crazy school-mom mania.  The overachieving moms get me all worked up with their uber involvement and super fabulousness.  The closer we get to the last day, the harder they organize, schedule, and plan.  I am so not made that way, and I get really grumpy [...]

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How to Handle a Fishy Friendship

My fish was dying – again. This would make it my third fish to die in two weeks.  I grabbed the fish bowl and my coat, ran out and hailed a cab.  With icky, fishy water sloshing all over my lap, I directed the cab to the Old Town Aquarium.  I ran in the dark store panicking as [...]

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A Tale of Two Gardens

When we first moved here, I didn’t know what a Hosta was.  My new neighbor, Karen, told me.  That first spring, still stunned by the loss of my career, I looked out at my new yard and felt helpless and stupid. I was lonely, bored and completely overwhelmed with all the little green shoots popping up, taunting [...]

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One Mother of a Playdate

There’s this thing about a mother’s intuition. We’re supposed to listen to it right?  
  
Not too long ago, a young family moved into JCrewville. They’re really nice and have two really cute kids. I’ve talked to the mother several times. She seems sweet and church-going.  I’ve been careful to watch my language around her.
  
Other than a little small talk however, I haven’t made the best [...]

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Beware of Killer Deer

My daughter Caroline recently informed us she was adopted.  Apparently she used to live with her “First Family” until they were “killed and eaten by a deer”.  Now, she’s announced, she “has to live with us”.  I think she’s mostly okay with this fate, although occasionally we’ll be going somewhere and she’ll comment nostalgically “Yeah, I used to [...]

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