“I’m going to make a quick phone call,” I told my 14-year-old son not long ago, after picking him up from school. “Who are you calling?” he asked. “You’ll see,” I told him. I speed-dialed Dennis Ferrier and put the phone on speaker. “Hello?” Dennis said. “Hey!” I said. “I just wanted to let you […]

Our youngest has always been easy. He’s a natural self-starter and sailed through elementary and middle school rarely needing help or reminders from us, which is good because after 20 years of parenting, you get… well… TIRED. Even better, he’s managed to make it this far without losing his agreeable disposition. Although I had braced […]

“I’m still coming to see you Thursday, but I have a Zoom appointment at noon that I can’t reschedule,” I told my mom on the phone recently, “So I’m just going to leave in the morning, pull over somewhere, and do the appointment in my car. Then I’ll finish the drive once it’s over.” I […]

First, there was ice. It poured from the sky, covering the streets of Nashville on Valentine’s Day evening. In ordinary times, this would have caused a whole lot of chaos and grumbling across the city about ruined date nights and cancelled reservations. But these are not ordinary times. Since there’s nothing romantic about dinner for […]

Truth be told, I’d rather close the book on 2020 and never, ever look back. But this blog is a record of my life, after all, and when historians carefully pore over these entries centuries from now for insight into how suburban white women lived during the (guessing here) Doucebaggian Period of American History, I’m […]

Here’s something I’ve never shared with you before: I have a child with an autoimmune disease. It’s something I haven’t written about because like many autoimmune diseases, it’s an invisible illness. Although my child has struggled and life since diagnosis hasn’t been easy, you probably wouldn’t have any idea my kid had anything going on […]

Each afternoon when I pick up my 12-year-old son from school, we perform a time-honored ritual that’s shared by millions of moms and sons every single day. (begin scene) “How was school?” I ask him. “Fine,” he answers. “What happened today?” I ask him. “Nothing,” he answers. (end scene) Of course, I usually press him […]

There are many things I’m sure I’ll miss when my children are grown. I’ll miss their laughter and noise and chatter. Their companionship, their hugs and hand squeezes. There are also a few things I won’t miss — I won’t miss driving the kids to school and doctor’s appointments and practices, and friends’ houses. Or […]

2019 definitely was a year of transition for my family. This has a lot to do with where we are now in life — Our youngest two kids have reached the tween/teen years, our parents are getting older, and so are the rest of the adults in our extended family. We’ve had to handle some […]

A few days ago, I did something I generally try to avoid — I bragged about my kid on Facebook. I hadn’t bragged in a while, mostly because my Facebook feed is already filled with other parents’ brags, and I think that stream is polluted enough already without me adding to it. Don’t get me […]