This might be the most fun I’ve ever had working. I’m lying in bed propped up on pillows, writing a column on my laptop, while 2-year-old Charlotte sleeps beside me snoring softly like a baby woodchipper. [Read more…]

It’s quite a view. In the west, the rugged Spring Mountains bask in the morning sun, an ever-changing interplay of light and clouds, peaks and valleys. I never tire of it. [Read more…]

Every year when Mother’s Day cards show up in the stores, I remember the woman who brought me into this world and often threatened to take me out.

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For the record, I don’t make it a habit to hang out in bars alone. Not that there’s anything wrong in that. I’m old enough to do as I please, thank you. But I’d probably just spend the whole time watching the door, expecting any minute to see my mother rise from her grave and come haul me out by my ear. [Read more…]

The message was brief. I read it twice: “Hey, Mom, can I come see you guys this weekend?” I wrote back, “Yippee!” Then I called the boy to get the plan.

He had stuff to do before leaving town, he said, but hoped to make it in time for dinner. I laughed. Dinner would be whenever he could get here. [Read more…]

Years ago, I reached a stunning realization that has served me well in all my seasons since. Simply put, it is this: The mark of a good outing is how little stuff you have to drag along.

I believe that to be absolutely true, whether the journey be a quick trip to the park or a rite of passage on the road of life. Unfortunately, unlike you, I don’t always stick to my beliefs. [Read more…]

Call me old-fashioned or just plain old, but one of the things I like about airline travel is being required to shut off cell phones _ no talking, texting, emailing, Facebooking or whatevering for the duration of the flight.

The reason I like it is simple. People who aren’t glued to cell phones are somewhat more likely to turn to the stranger who is wedged in beside them and engage in what was once known as polite conversation. [Read more…]

Sometimes life turns in a circle like a beacon to show you something old in a new light. Yesterday I flew from my home in Las Vegas to the Monterey Peninsula in California, where I raised my children. Two of them still live here, teaching school and raising families of their own.

I visit as often as I can. But playing with the little people (ages 3, 2 and 1) doesn’t leave much time to spend with their parents. The parents don’t seem to mind. But I do. I miss them. So I said, on this visit, I’d like some time alone with each of the grownups. That raised a few eyebrows, but nobody balked. [Read more…]

It was an offer I wouldn’t refuse. My husband is a newspaper editor. For Read Across America Day (March 3), the newspaper where he works signed up to send volunteers to read to school children.

“I signed you up, too,” he told me. “You can go with me.” [Read more…]

Someday, I swear, I am going to quit. Next month, maybe. Or next year. I’ve done it most of my life and it’s getting old.
Not that it’s hard. I’ve been doing it so long it’s like taking a shower or brushing my teeth or reminding my husband to tie his shoes. I could do it in my sleep. [Read more…]