“Mom, you say that everywhere we go on vacation.” It’s true. I have wanted to live on Sanibel Island, in the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina, western Canada and a few other places. I fell hard for Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island last summer. Talk about a beautiful, friendly community. I could live there easily; …
Continue reading ““I could live here, let’s look at the housing market.””
“Mom, do you think this is Ruby or Pumpkin? Or maybe Daisy?” Olivia was waving a drum bone in the air. I didn’t have an answer. The chickens all looked the same at this point, sizzling on the grill. This day just got weirder and weirder. I was surprised at the complete aplomb with which …
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. ~Nelson Mandela
I was twelve when we moved. We’d lived at 70 Colonial Avenue in Pitman, New Jersey since I was 6. We moved on August 8, 1977. The day before we left the house for good, my mother thought it would be fun and a good way to occupy us kids, if we painted the garage …
“I told Mr. Cioffi that me and my family would take all the chicks that hatch this spring.” Olivia came home from third grade one fall afternoon and announced with great excitement how she’d volunteered to take all the baby chicks that would hatch in the spring when third grade completed their Embryology Unit. She …
My children are moving out in increments. As they move to college, college apartments and then on to their first real apartments and contemplate home ownership, they make requests for particular household items. My mother — Gigi — to my kids, is a genius at fulfilling their requests. Gigi lives in a small New England …
I came to the mountain and I walked up…slowly. There is a great deal of satisfaction in making the journey to the top of the mountain, step-by-step. Sulfur Mountain in Banff, Alberta, Canada is mildly famous in my family. We hiked it 7 years ago. My family has many competitive members and on that day, …
June 1992 – Seneca Lake with Keith It was the middle of a star-filled night and we were lying tummies-down, on a dock, on Seneca Lake, peering into the depths to see the sawbellies. You and I were newly wed; six months into this adventure and I was pregnant. I could feel the 4-month old, tiny …
At that time and place you could borrow books, puzzles and record albums from The Carnegie Library in Rockport, Massachusetts. On a bright July morning in the mid 70s my mother and I were returning books and a record album before walking the rest of the way to Front Beach for a day of swimming lessons …
“Three miles. Another early morning run. Get ‘er done.” This mantra beat in my head as I ran down the path. The morning was bejeweled: Mars, Jupiter and Venus beamed out of the early sky canvas. My footsteps kept time with my breathing; a quiet tune from my ipod played in my ears as my eyes peered …
