My father is larger than life. His gregarious personality has led him into countless spontaneous friendships, marvelous toasts, thousands of entertaining (albeit predictable) exchanges with restaurant waitstaff, and into a marriage of remarkable endurance. He met my mother while working at the local Safeway in his twenties, putting himself through college and then law school. … Continue reading
I’ve been struggling with my daughter recently. Well, not so much recently, but since she was born. Since before then, actually. Since the 48-hour-long labor that almost took us both out. Since the week that followed in the hospital where I required chest X-rays in the middle of the night, extra oxygen to keep me … Continue reading
I wanted to post this on Mother’s Day, the day that everyone is focused on the important role mothers play in our lives. But late-spring sickness has ravaged our household, this mom included, making the holiday weekend a bit of a bust for writing or any sort of productivity beyond snot-sucking tiny noses, constantly blowing … Continue reading
Tonight I felt as though my children were trying to kill me. Not intentionally, but subtly, strongly, assuredly, through their inability to calm down and go the f— to sleep. I am exhausted. I love them. I feel frustrated by them. And at a loss as to what else to do in these situations, with … Continue reading
I wrote this in what felt like a heartbeat. In the year that I turn 40 and am experiencing life with two kids under two, the subject of time is a bit of an obsession these days. Speed it up, slow it down, freeze it, make sense of it, create more of it. This little … Continue reading
Last week, my mom turned 70. Last month, my friend’s mom passed away suddenly. Last year, another’s died similarly. And a decade ago, another’s was permanently altered by an aneurysm, her speech, ability to eat, walk and interact with loved ones never to be the same again. These women are our quiet heroes. They changed … Continue reading
My hiatus from this blog has been longer than I expected. This is why: Sadie, my first child, was born in April, and in the months leading up to her birth, and those since, I’ve been a bit preoccupied with her existence. On the topic of this blog, early pregnancy cravings were quite focused on … Continue reading
August 11 was my dad’s birthday and the occasion of the most recent post to this blog. Since there has been a long stretch of nothingness here since that last post, I wanted to explain why. On August 12, I learned I was pregnant. For the next three months, instead of writing, I spent many … Continue reading
My mother, Roberta Marie (Royce) Smith, was born in 1943 in Sacramento, California, to Eunice Marguerite Royce and Thomas C. Royce. One of two children, she lived with her younger brother and their parents in the same, tidy 3-bed/1-very-pink-bath house on 40th Street in East Sac until she moved out in 1961 to go to college … Continue reading
Cravings of Home 