• Goodbye overlooked middle child.

    So this boy is off to college this Saturday. To Oakland University. On scholarship. I am not a parent that advertises my kids’ accomplishments on my car bumper. Besides, it’s hard to find a bumper stick that reads, My son may not be an honor student but at least he hasn’t gotten anyone pregnant.  In general I… Continue Reading

  • Brother, can you spare a dime? Nope.

    So I have three boys. Sorry, three men.  Men who watch SpongeBob in their underwear while eating Frosted Flakes out of mixing bowls, but men nonetheless.  At 16 and almost 18 and 20, they are quickly receding from boyhood. I can attest that they all came from the same place.  Well, roughly speaking – one was… Continue Reading

  • Put a ring on it…I need the extra money.

    I don’t wear a wedding ring. A fact that is frequently pointed out to me by various acquaintances – most recently last Tuesday while getting my hair cut.  Such queries have varied subtexts of meaning that generally fall into one of three categories: The concerned:  “When did you stop wearing your ring?”  i.e., When did… Continue Reading

  • Jagged little pill.

    So to make a long story short, my eldest son is not joining the Navy. He is no longer enlisted for reasons that are for him to explain to those he chooses, or not, should he choose to have them remain private. And yes, it goes without saying, that he retained full approval over my… Continue Reading

  • An amateur marriage.

    Author’s note:  I tend towards sentimentality when Mike is away.  The fact that he is on an extended business trip may result in my writing kinder things than I would if he was in the same room with me, napping with his mouth hanging open and the TV remote balanced on his stomach.  We met while… Continue Reading

  • Brother, can you spare a dime? Nope.

    So I have three boys. Sorry, three men.  Men who watch SpongeBob in their underwear while eating Frosted Flakes out of mixing bowls, but men nonetheless.  At 16 and almost 18 and 20, they are quickly receding from boyhood. I can attest that they all came from the same place.  Well, roughly speaking – one was… Continue Reading

  • Congrats. Now get on with it.

    I am not the most sentimental of mothers. I began noticing the difference on my youngest son’s first day of kindergarten – surrounded by mothers wiping away tears while simultaneously sizing up my dry-eyed self and asking the inevitable question – Doesn’t it make you sad? Nope. Overjoyed, elated, exuberant, giddy…YES.  Sad?  No. I could… Continue Reading