Retro: Happy Easter 1981

My dad just put his entire personal photo collection onto my computer, so I suddenly have access to decades of family photos. Happy Easter!

Read Full Post »

Retro: Happy Easter 1988

This is me with my cousin and grandma on Easter twenty years ago, back before global warming had completely fucked everything up. Do you see how spring-like it is? That is how Easter should be.

Read Full Post »

Retro: Christmas 1979

Every year, my dad and our next-door neighbor shared Christmas decorations that stretched across the two lawns. You can see what the whole shebang looked like right here. This was, of course, when we lived in Dallas, which should be evident by my short sleeves.

Read Full Post »

Merry Merry Christmas!

I wish I could get a picture of all three cats, but Monte has sequestered himself upstairs until very recently. Now that the house is dark and quiet, he feels brave enough to jump on kitchen cabinets, throw up on the basement stairs, and snuggle up in my lap as I type this. Probably tomorrow [...]

Read Full Post »

Best Birthday Card Ever

With much thanks to my friend Harriett, and also to Dr. Seuss, whose characters appear all over the card:
It’s Your Day to Make Some Noise!
Today’s the day!
It’s finally here!
Don’t be bashful!
Give a cheer!
(Just because you’re older now, don’t pretend you don’t know how!)
ZANG a cymbal!
BLOOT a horn!
Celebrate that you were born!
It’s your day!
No time for [...]

Read Full Post »

Because It Never Gets Old…

…even though I do.
Three years ago:

Read Full Post »

Happy V-Day!

I’ve never been much for Valentine’s Day. It’s always seemed really contrived, and even when you’re dating someone, there are way better holidays to celebrate. (Half-birthdays, for instance). I used to wear all black or gray on V-Day, probably spawned by the bitterness and resentment I harbored from my days in an all-girls high school [...]

Read Full Post »

Happy Half to Me!

I always loved having a summer birthday. Not only is August 3 always hot and sunny, I never once had to attend school on my birthday. I felt sorry for all those poor kids who had to do homework and take tests on their birthdays—and I liked school. But birthdays should be an opportunity to [...]

Read Full Post »

Fresh Start

I like the idea of a new year, a new start, except that it’s really just another work week in the same beige cube with the same overtime demands. Good thing I didn’t resolve to have a better attitude. 
I spent my New Year’s Eve at a blues lounge on the South Side, where I was [...]

Read Full Post »

Avoiding the G-Word*

Christmas Eve conversation instigated by my mother:
Do you still think you don’t want kids?
Yeah.
Why?
Well, I don’t really like them.
You seem to like Emmit.
I do. But he’s different.
It’s different when they’re your own, too!
What’s wrong with your grandkitties?
They are cats, Laura. Not grandkitties. Cats.
But they’re like toddlers! They get into everything, they put everything in their [...]

Read Full Post »