Apples on sale for 68 cents a pound Bun Cha Hanoi, especially in Hanoi Children who run to hug me Dancing like mad on Friday nights Eric for making me happy Friends who have my back no matter what Gluten-free bread that actually tastes good Housemates we like Internet access, without it I’d be lost […]
Gratitude from A-Z Read More »
There are a lot of things a kid can miss out when they’ve only got one parent, but what my kids have missed the most wasn’t someone to play baseball with or someone to teach them how to shave or draw or make music. What my kids really missed out on was that second income.
Some 18-year-olds get cars Read More »
The GuyFriend wandered into a pub over near his house for the first time a few weeks ago and found our new pastime: shooting pool. Last week the two of us went and both sucked miserably at the game. Back and forth we went, neither getting anything except the cue ball into the pocket for
Since it’s just down the block from their school and I needed to go anyway, I asked the kids to meet me at the grocery. The timing was perfect and I drove by them unnoticed. But I saw them–laughing and teasing with each other as they strolled down the block. It was a proud mother
Catching a Sneak Peek Read More »
September is always a difficult month for me. When I was in university, I never had any money until the financial aid check came at the end of the month. Working for the school system isn’t any better; they send checks on the very last day of the month. But of course, the kids’ school
it’s just a number Read More »
Changes this time are only to the blog as I transition things over a bit at a time until this blog features some of the better posts (but not all of them). I want this site to be both informational and inspirational. As I write my book about our travels, and re-read blog posts and
ch-ch-changes again Read More »
I have a reading this evening at Marylhurst University, and I’ve managed to whittle what had been a chapter down to two pages to read aloud: Not one of the two dozen children who live at the baby orphanage come out to greet us when Jo and I ride in, ringing our bike bells in
Tam Biet, Em Be (an excerpt) Read More »
I am from small town manners and big city dreams. I am from tater tot casseroles and bun thit nuong. I am from love and distrust. I am from an attic bedroom and a basement home. I am from one cup of milk a day and never eating bread again. I am from the smell
Early memories are difficult for me. Not because they were too painful to remember or too ugly to forget, but simply because I have a terrible memory. In Writing Life Stories, Roorbach gives the writing exercise of drawing a map of your earliest remembered neighborhood. Mine would be from when we lived on River Street
Writing exercise: Memories Read More »
