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A friend whose band, Panorama Jazz Band, often plays at synagogues around the city, recommended I check out Shir Chadash because he said the community there is vibrant and warm. This is how Tin and I ended up there last Sunday for the reading of the Megillah – the story of Esther and her foolish husband (the King of Persia) and evil Haman who wanted to kill all Jews – which is celebrated in the…
There have been big loops in my life where I’ve been at the precipice of a new undertaking. The first came in 1989, having gone back to complete my bachelor’s and having told my employer (a law firm) that I would like to move to a four-day a week schedule in order to have time to write. Yes, I took a pay cut. I was living on General Pershing Street in uptown New Orleans renting…
Now that I am moving more into vegetarianism, gluten-free, and possibly even vegan, I get a puppy who is a carnivore. Stella (the puppy) is chewing her way through my life – claiming the extra hour of sleep I need in the morning, the downtime I require to rest from the juggling of work and parenthood, and yesterday, a pair of brown leggings were added to her list. A friend recommended nutria strips to give…
I’ve mourned my dogs and realized I was also mourning who I was with my dogs. Arlene’s death took its toll of me, and I imagined I would never bond with another animal after her. Recently, I ran into a old friend at the new Whole Foods – he had just lost his third dog and we spoke about how hard it is for us, those they leave behind. And he referred me to a…
One thing about motherhood, especially when your child is young, is it does not leave a lot of time for writing or rather it seriously crimps the ability to reflect then write then rewrite. I find myself in a conundrum where I have been before – it is walking a delicate balance between writing for sustenance and writing for substance. I am taking on jobs where the pay is skimpy because I’m chasing the bills.…
Okay – now hail the week that seemed like a rising mountain. From Endymion in my front yard to a birthday party of five year olds in my back yard, this has been a week. I woke Saturday morning with a fever and a headache and Tin said, “Are you not going to come to my birthday party?” I looked at him through the slit I was making with the covers over my head and…
Today is Tin’s fifth birthday. He woke and repeated what he had told me last night, “I will turn five in my heart.” Today is another day for me to celebrate being his mother. It rained all day yesterday so his trampoline is a little soggy and it is still cold outside, but it is warming up and soon we’ll be jumping away in the back yard. Photo by Marc Pagani A woman’s life is…
Yesterday, Endymion, one of the largest parades rolled down a block away from our house. There is always a sense of excitement anticipating a Carnival parade here in New Orleans, but Endymion is no ordinary parade – it’s a super krewe with a large following. When I first moved into the Spirit House I instantly missed the front porch of the LaLa and kept thinking of how I was going to have a porch built…
My 15-year-old friend boldly sent a letter to her crush and said simply, “I have a crush on you.” The response was awkward – “We’re cool.” I told her, you cut through the ambiguity – you’re brave – if he remains ambiguous, that’s him. Do you. I went to a wedding last night – a man was marrying his dream bride – he wore black and she wore white. I had hoped to dance, instead…
This morning as I was counting, ONE [pause] TWO [pause] for Tin to come brush his teeth and let me pick his hair, I was in mother mode and when he came running before I got to THREE [thank you 1 2 3 Magic] I took a deep breath and began putting the creme in his hair. I muttered under my breath, “Your hair is getting long.” And then I said, “Is my hair getting…