Old School Posts

• As Long As She Lets Me

  She is getting big. Off to Kindergarten next year. And there are moments when I can glimpse the land past little-girlhood. But for now she still grabs my hand before we cross the street. And I hold it and we walk. Forward and across. You know something? I will hold her hand as long as she lets

• Confessions. Cars. Coolness.

  Confession: I don't drive. I don't even have a driver's license. Yup, that's right. I have 3.2 decades under that proverbial belt. I have a marriage and a mortgage, but I have never driven a car. I could blame this on the Manhattan thing. And I always have. I grew up in a city where there is no

• Five Years

  Five years ago today, I woke up in my childhood bed. A full-sized bed, decked in faded flowers. The bed on which I used to scatter my notes to study. The bed on which I used to sit with friends and gossip. The bed which I used to share with Sister C every Christmas Eve. You see, when I went off

• I Am Not a "Chinese Mother"

  I do not claim to be a perfect mother. Or to know what it means to be a perfect mother. Or to believe in the existence of Perfect Mothers. But I will say one thing: I am not mean to my girls. Do I snap from time to time - out of exhaustion or exasperation? Of course. I'm only human. But I ha

• The Happy Headache Begins

  "Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction." Pablo Picasso After a lovely almost-two-year-waiting-game, work officially began yesterday on our new place! Last night, Husband and I waded through the devastation depicted here, giddy with excitement that this is actually happening.

• Exquisite Exhaustion (a.k.a. I Need a Nap)

  I woke up this morning and realized something: I am really really tired. Exhausted. Exquisitely exhausted. It's been a long and lovely week. On Saturday, I headed to New Haven for Sister T's graduation. Cozy on Yale's campus, I felt very much at home. I walked the streets of my past

• A Big Day

  Yesterday was a big day for this literary rookie. It was big because advance copies of LIFE AFTER YES arrived. For the first time, my story was not a collection of loose pages, but an actual book. And I held it. I flipped through it. I ran my finger along the spine. I smiled. A lot. But. Yes,

• Your Fifth Birthday

  Big Girl, On New Year's Day, you turned five. And it was a wonderful day. A day I have no doubt I will remember. And maybe you. This amazes me and delights me, that you have entered the terrain of memory, that these are days and moments that might just stick with you. I hope you remember bits

• Awesome

  If you've ever doubted the power of girls, I have two words/names for you: Rachel Alexandra. In the unfortunate event that you missed the historic Preakness earlier this evening, the only filly in a sea of colts took the grand prize. You go, girl!

• That Little Pink Stroller

  [caption id="attachment_1784" align="alignnone" width="520" caption="{Trust me. It's pink.}"][/caption] If you have a little girl between the ages of one and four, my guess is that you own that little pink stroller. It is flimsy and folds. The "hardware" is bubble gum pink and the seat is pin