Sunday, October 30, 2011



This is not my logo, but it might as well be! If you know me, you know that I live in the Northeast, where we were hit with a freak snow-storm yesterday. 
 Luckily we were spared, any major damage, just a few branches fell. The power is out all over town and we may have a snow day tomorrow!

A snow day, because I have not cooked and cleaned enough! Every towel ever created has been washed by me at least once since Friday. With the picky choices, I made two different lunches, two dinners, soup and a coffee cake;  ran a child to a sleepover, in the snow/sleet, came back and threw in another load. Meanwhile, the husband was tired from... I'm not sure, from eating I guess and went to sleep. 
This morning, it began again. Laundry, cleaning, more laundry, making one dinner entree, and then running out to get eggs, because I used them all yesterday. Came back and the husband whines "I'm hungry, are you making lunch?" Yes, it was made yesterday. A bowl of chicken salad. But, I made him a sandwich, because that is what I do, right? Next trip in, he grabs a piece of the aforementioned coffee cake, which serves 16 normal people, but in our house, it will be gone by tonight. A few minutes later he comes in from the garage for the third time in 10 minutes, picks at the cake again and says "I'm tired." Yes, from the two pieces of cake you just had for dessert. So it's off to the couch, again.

I tried three times to read the paper, which I grabbed when I trudged out for the eggs, but one son came and joined me for his first piece of cake, and then the other sat and had a bowl of cereal. After trying to rescue a burning a jiffy pop, I left the paper on the table, and gave up. 
Until I return to the kitchen to make the meatloaf that the younger children requested. They didn't want the chicken I had already made. And by the way, there are chicken nuggets in the fridge. Those are for the older son, who won't eat either entree!

Sunday, October 23, 2011



There are a lot of things I can say about my parents. One thing is certain, I was never told that I couldn't do something because of my gender or because it made no sense to them. My father followed in a family business and was miserable. My brother tried our family business and then followed his passion. Not all parents are enlightened enough to do that, but I guess I am following my parents guide. Yes, money is important, but plenty of rich people are unhappy. Happy people are rich in other ways.
So, when my children say, "what do you want me to do?" I tell them "do what you want to do." 



Recently I had a talk with a young girl who set off to study one thing and changed her mind in her freshman year, much to her mom's dismay. Mom's reasoning, "I want her to have a job that will make a lot of money. She shouldn't depend on someone else. " Never did she say I want my daughter to be happy.
And the term a lot of money is pretty subjective. On more than one occasion, I told the mom, I'm sorry I disagree with you. I even talked with the young person and gave her some suggestions that would make sense in her new path. The other day the mother came by and said, "please talk to her, tell her she is wrong." I couldn't. Not only do I disagree with the mother's approach to the problem, but I see how unhappy the young girl is about the rigid attitude of the mom.

I have no idea what lies in the future for my sons or my friend's daughter, for that matter. I know that what they set out to study will evolve into something that probably hasn't been created yet. I was going to be a newspaper writer, or a playwright. I wrote for newspapers, before using my skills in a more philanthropic endeavor; so now I write to make myself happy. And isn't that what we all want? 

So, thanks mom and dad for telling me it was alright to dream that I would be the first female writer to win a Pulitizer Prize Winner for Sports. But in the 41 years they have awarded the prize to commentary, only two sports writers have won. My idol Red Smith and Dave Anderson. So, my dream is still safe.