“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 […]

Here in Nashville, weather conditions these last few weeks have been akin to those in… well, Hell. Temperatures have soared into the nineties nearly every day and the godawful humidity here makes it seem even hotter. Unless I’m poolside with a good book, I despise the weather this time of year. I hate the bugs […]

“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 […]

It was 3 am and I was very much asleep when it happened. “Hey-low,” a woman said in a singsong-soft voice, her lips just inches from my ear. She said it quietly, the way my grandmother might once have gently woken me on a summer morning… but this voice definitely wasn’t my grandmother. “What?” I […]

You might assume that because of Pandemic Times, I no longer have any interesting adventures to report — and you would be right, barring That Time I Took a Walk and Saw a Really Big Turtle in the Pond. (Expect my memoir with that title from Doubleday in Spring 2022.) However, a couple of nights […]

My Facebook feed is overflowing right now with adorably filtered pictures of your kids’ first days of school-at-home. You’re all so sweetly optimistic; it truly warms my heart. You’ve repurposed your breakfast nook into a cozy learning haven! You’ve decorated your walls with maps and alphabet letters! You’ve replaced the stacks of magazines, old mail, […]

Dear Parents, As you may have heard, our school board unanimously decided during last night’s Zoom meeting to hold in-person classes at all of our district’s schools, starting August 10th. Although some parents have expressed concern about sending their children back to school in the midst of an out-of-control pandemic, we have come to the […]

You probably have a lot of thoughts and feelings right now about coronavirus. So do I, my friend. Honestly, I feel like I have no words for what’s going on — but that’s what GIFs are for, right? So here’s a look at my life right now — IN GIFS…   Me, watching the news. […]

In the wake of the controversy surrounding Jennifer Lopez’s scandalous Super Bowl performance, I’ve seen many comments and concerns over what is and what isn’t appropriate for families to watch. This handy guide should help clear up your confusion! OKAY: Olympic pairs ice skating.   NOT OKAY: Jennifer Lopez’s Super Bowl performance.   OKAY: The […]

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 […]