Last night I arrived at my brother’s house to a very pleasant surprise. One of my niecelettes, A, was wide awake having a late-night (at least for her) snack with her mom. After a whole bunch of hugs and kisses, the east coasters declared it bedtime for all. After all, they have school and work …
Category Archives: About me
Shpilkes
The word shpilkes is both a simple and a very nuanced term. It can be loosely defined as fidgety, nervous energy. But that really only scrapes the surface of the original Yiddish meaning. Shpilkes occupies that space between boredom and agitation. That place where focusing is just as impossible as sitting still. Like when you …
Focus, Focus
It has been a whirlwind kind of a day so far. Last night I chose the wrong setting on my alarm clock, so I woke up later than I intended. Not only did I get some unintended extra sleep, but I was woken by my cat who very rarely deigns to come upstairs to the …
Insulting my Intelligence
First thing this morning I had an appointment for a pap smear. Not the best of ways to start a day, but at least I was going to get this unpleasant responsibility out of the way early. All went fine on the testing front. What didn’t go as fine was my reaction to the doctor …
Who am I and what am I doing here?
Last night before I fell asleep I had a brilliant idea for a post. I failed to record it and this morning I am finding myself without any clue of what it was. To make matters worse, I am uploading a huge number of files to a site I am working on, and that gives …
Rockin' Around the Clock
After two difficult family meetings, we have all (my father included) decided it is time to move to 24/7 care for my father. The original plan had been to move my father into the spare room so my mother could retain her privacy. But at her request, my father will, at least for now, remain …
Let There Be Light
Fall is my favorite season. The rains return (although they could have returned with less of a vengeance this year and I would have been ok with that), the leaves change and the weather cools down. The sweaters come back out and we add layers of blankets to the bed. We are very stubborn about …
Evidence of Achievement
Yesterday I read an article that asserted that giving all the participants a trophy or ribbon for participation does not work the way people thinks it does. Kids are smart enough to know who excels and who doesn’t and just pretending that all kids are equal just diminishes incentives to work harder. I happen to …
Where Hast Thou Gone, Crafty Mojo?
Something this summer sucked up all my crafty mojo. I spent the entire summer anticipating playing on the lap loom at Lake Placid, but barely touched it (I know that I have a better, fancier loom, but the appeal of weaving on vacation is a powerful force). My table loom has been equally ignored. I …
It's Not All Bad
Thank you everyone who offered hugs and support after my latest update on my father. I really do appreciate it. But, my life is not all about struggles right now. There are some really good things going on. Below is just a sampling of the good stuff in my life right now (as usual, they …