G-ma was delighted when a couple of recent installments of the Chronicles inspired readers to recall some of their own favorite family lore. Even better, they wrote and shared their memories and bestowed permission to pass them on. Over the years, G-ma has become a fervent believer that there’s a funny thread somewhere in every […]
Growing old, together
An alluring spring dawn had announced itself through the slats in the window blinds long before we raised our heads from the pillows simultaneously and locked eyes. No words were exchanged, but the message was clear. Keats would have observed us as two souls with but a single thought: It was too early to get […]
Four Feet at a Fork in the Road
My daughter stood, firmly planted in her exasperation on the side of the road that bright October day, refusing to move and begging me to listen. “Mom!” she pleaded, “Come here and just LOOK. Seriously. MOM. Listen to me.” Nononono, I responded firmly, turning my back and edging away. Now is not the time. No, […]
Spirits in Treasures and Handing Down the Ancestral Seat
A few years back I read a fascinating book about Te Maori, the first U. S. exhibition of ancient art from the native Maori people of New Zealand. The opening of the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum in New York was preceded by elaborate tribal rituals symbolizing honor for and protection of the ancestral artists, […]
The Empty Box: A Christmas Memory
If you are inclined this time of year to reminiscing about Christmases past, like so many of us of a certain age, you might linger on memories of treasured gifts you received as a child. Perhaps there was a favorite toy, a bicycle, or maybe a special outfit you wanted desperately and never thought your […]
Soundtrack for a Saturday Morning
It’s a crisp, clear fall Saturday morning, and Small Sister and I are hanging at the park. Her mother’s in a yoga class nearby, and I’m happy to entertain Sis while my daughter gets an hour of stretching and peaceful introspection. Sis currently occupies the mid-point in that sanity-stretching, two-year-old year, when hanging with her […]