Yup. We’re “those” people in the neighborhood, the ones who can’t keep their dog in their yard. Why does every canine we own need to escape — if only for an hour — every chance they get? We feed them, house them, walk them, and love them. They love us back, but damn. Is it […]
You know the feeling. Your family’s going to everyone’s favorite summer spot. In our case, it’s the same house on Cape Cod each year. It’s nice to spend time together, something that’s rare now that the kids are grown. Still, a question lingers — can we survive a week in close proximity? After all, […]
Ever want to do something just to do it? It’s not practical or useful, but you just need that fix? Recently, on a whim my 21-year old son Paul and I decided to have lunch in New York City. Nothing else. Just lunch. I studied Zagat’s guide, picking out Vitae Restaurant on 46th Street, […]
You think you’ll feel one way about something, but end up feeling another. My oldest son Patrick moved out recently. I expected to feel easy-going about it, ready. After all, he’s 25. It’s time. But I felt something different. The sight of his empty room hit me harder than expected. All his furniture is gone […]
We’ve all been there. You’re in a situation that pushes all your buttons. But you don’t want to wimp out. You don’t want to be the panicked nut job of the group. This happened to me at Ireland’s Blarney Castle. What’s so hard about kissing a rock, I thought? I was to find out. No […]
Have you heard of the teacup list? Instead of the bucket list with its dramatic, “before-I-die” goals, we have the teacup list. Instead of feeling panicked you haven’t gone on that cross-country road trip or hiked Thailand or parachuted in the Gobi desert, you shrink all expectations. With this in mind, here in no particular order are the small (okay, very small) things I wish to do this summer…
Many times you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I always knew I had a wonderful father. But now that it’s been almost a year since he’s passed, the full impact of what I’ve lost is sinking in. Here are 8 traits he had that I believe go into making a great […]
Some people don’t believe in aging. My grandmother was one of them. I realized this as I stood in the Hyannis Bus Station one afternoon in June of 1974. I was seventeen, had just graduated high school, and grateful my parents had agreed to let me stay with Nana for the summer. Five minutes passed, […]
Some people love to shop and God bless them. But I see a strange phenomenon in my part of Connecticut. Retail stores are closing, lots of them. And when I look at these empty storefronts, I feel this odd, misplaced sense of guilt. Am I partly responsible? You see, I never, ever, walk into stores […]
