Holidays are funny things. Thanks to our Norman Rockwell-Hallmark state of mind, we expect that they will be all American perfection complete with abundant food, well-behaved children, and gifts that we’ve always longed for. No one argues; no one is cranky or dissatisfied or sad. We create a minefield of disillusionment for ourselves. Every year […]
A couple of weeks ago I was at the Department of Education in Malden doing a STAR reading training when I heard my phone ring. I checked to see who was calling, since I was expecting a call from my assistant telling me that my GED school was on fire. Thankfully, it turned out to […]
Our dog, Snoopy, has routines that he follows religiously. Every morning he performs his yoga stretches, visits the trees, then has breakfast. After begging for his extra piece of cheese, he goes back to sleep for the rest of the morning. Upon awakening he drives Steve crazy until our neighbor, Cheryl, comes to take him […]
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed and I am sitting in Temple once again asking God’s pardon for my behavior during the past year. Things are slightly different this year. Last year we joined my mom at her place of worship; this year she came with us to our service at Temple […]
Noisy, excited kids filled the room. They moved from box to box, searching for something they hadn’t read before. Some of the younger kids found their perfect book and plopped down to read, unable to wait for their parents to purchase it, let alone until they got it home. Parents read to young children while […]
Editor’s note: The following column originally appeared in a 2001 issue of the Canton Citizen. For the people in the world who live 9/11 every day of their lives. I used to live in a suburb of Haifa, a picture postcard, hillside city in northern Israel. My apartment sat on the crest of a hill […]
Sometimes I fool myself into thinking that I’ve got life all worked out, figured out, and straightened out. Then suddenly I can’t dry my hair or have my morning coffee, can’t turn on the computer to check my mail, can’t even open the garage door to get my car out. When the electricity is off […]
The day we brought Snoopy home from the animal shelter was memorable for all the wrong reasons. After years of hearing our two girls constantly harangue us with, “Please can we get a dog, please, please, please can we get a dog, please we’ll take care of it please!?” I finally gave in because Mariel […]
Thirty-six years ago, Steve and I sat on a swing set in an Indiana campground, discussing the impossibility of getting married. Actually, I was the one talking impossible — Steve was trying to convince me of the possible. All I saw was us living on opposite sides of the ocean enmeshed in families and jobs […]
When Lisa and Matt told us that they were looking for an apartment I was thrilled. Lisa warned us that it would take a while to find a livable place for a reasonable price in Cambridge, but I thought, “How hard could it be?” Surely they would come up with something. They were looking during […]
