It’s an old saw, “If I’d known how much fun grandchildren would be, I’d have had them first.” In my case, things worked out that way. I’ve never had children. That’s a long story with some sad chapters, but what it means for me now is that I’ve skipped the hard part and gone...
I figured I should get my hair cut pretty short so that it would be wash-and-go for my trip to Australia. I had a coupon for a nearby hair salon and walked over this morning to get my unruly hair tidied for the journey. Women thrilled with the hair they were granted at birth...
On December 30 Michael Dahl posed two questions in the title of his blog post on Speak for We: “Does blogging matter? Does it create change?” He was responding to the question David Henderson posed to himself that same day: “Does Blogging Matter in the Social Sector?” I promised to comment on Michael’s post...
We had a cat, my mother, brother and I. She was one of many animals who paraded through my childhood. This one was special, a pure-bred Siamese. I have no memory of how we acquired such a beauty. We would never have had money to buy her. But there she was, chocolate nose, paws...
Preparing for the first day of 5th grade, in a school new to me, I made a resolution. From that day forward I would be called by my given name. “Cathy” is a perfectly fine nickname, but I preferred the name I was granted at birth, “Cathryn”. Mother drove me to school and introduced...
When I picked up the phone, the caller identified himself as being from the Seattle university that had hired me to teach a storytelling class to education students. “We overlooked something. I’m sure we know the answer so it is just a formality.” I waited for some axe to fall, and it did. “Are...
Martin King set himself a goal for August – 100 blog posts about childhood memories in one month. Sounds like climbing Mount Rainier in one day, from sea level to over 14,000 feet. In other words, a bit of overwhelming madness. Fortunately for his sanity, and in deference to the 24-hour day, he enlisted...
In less than seven weeks I’m turning 65. Aging has never held much terror for me, probably because my mother was comfortable with her own. I have a hunch she would have kept her gray hair, as I have, had she not been persuaded by certain family members to youthify her follicles. My mother’s...
On July 5th in a Melbourne hospital, a miracle slipped into the world. I know that’s true because one of her moms called me moments later to tell me I was officially “Tutu”. That’s a Hawaiian word for grandmother and will be my nickname as this most beloved of children grows. I never experienced...
Sunburn in Scotland Sunburn was the last thing I expected when I set out to climb Ben Nevis. You can start out in sun and get caught in fog, gale-force winds or pelting rain. Stumble into one of the gullies or off a ridge en route to the summit, and the next stop is...
For over twenty years my mother did the bookkeeping for a seed company in Twin Falls, Idaho. The salary was low. Hours were long. She worked five and a half days a week and never got more than a couple weeks of vacation. I don’t know if she loved the job. I do know...
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