Month: September 1997

The first night of play practice, my 16-year-old took her friends home from practice. We live a 5-minute walk from school. Driving friends home ensured at least 20 minutes behind the wheel. At 8:45, she called. One friend was home, but the car was out of gas. My husband looked up from the computer at…

Fifteen years ago, when her youngest was still a pre-schooler, the marriage soured. She swooped up the four children and headed home to lick her wounds, count her losses and assess the situation. With no husband, insufficient child support and an entry level job, every penny had to be pinched. She hated going to town…

A generous serving of pepperoni pizza woke me up at 3 a.m. My daughter’s generosity with our living room furniture kept me awake. A couple years ago, I found a pair of interesting end tables at a garage ale. I offered them to my newly married son and his wife. They used them until a…

“A department store across the river is having a close out sale. Let’s go,” my daughter-in-love said. I grabbed my billfold and reached for the car keys. “We’ll walk. It’s only a couple of blocks to the ferry and a few blocks downtown from there.” I drive to town for sales, but my petite daughter-in-love…

I was 16, the summer my aunt took her teen-aged son, nieces and nephews to the ocean. While the guys struggled to conquer the surfboard, I waded out to the deep water and met a Marine on a weekend pass. As we bounced along with incoming waves, getting acquainted, I touched down on something sharp…