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 »
What was originally intended as a dinner party, turned out to be an intimate family-style dinner with our household plus Stuart’s friend and his dad. The food was good and the view out the windows was beautiful, so as disappointing as it was to have to cancel the party due to the snow… well, at
Snow has returned… Read More »
My daughter, A., is a list maker. Just like her father’s mother. Just like me. She begged for a magnetic pad of paper from the dollar store last week. It’s lined paper, with the heading of “The List” on each page. She won the argument and has used the pages diligently including this to-do list
Like Mother, Like Daughter. Read More »
After almost a year hiatus and after some prodding from friends, I decided to do another run of the feminist tees. Unfortunately (or so it seemed at the time) the screen had been lost during its idle time. I whipped up a new and improved rendition of the old text and my ex’s parents were
Wear your feminism and your femininity proudly! Read More »
Part of the requirements for graduating with my bachelor’s degree includes two years of a foreign language. Portland State University doesn’t offer American Sign Language as a foreign language (don’t even get me started on this one), but after doing some checking, I found that I could test out of the requirement rather than take
It isn’t very often that, as a white American, we get to feel out of our element, but when we make our way to Viet Nam, we will be completely out of our element. I’m sure it will be interesting for me, but assuredly difficult for my kids. So I’ve been contemplating ways to help
Today is World Refugee Day. There are more than 9 million children living their lives as refugees. As the UNHCR says, they have the right to play, to have fun, to just be kids. Those opportunities are stripped from them as refugees, many in their own countries. Ninemillion.org is trying to make a difference.
I drove back to Portland on Wednesday after a brief sojourn into the wilderness of Central Oregon. Okay, so really, I was chaperoning for my son’s school trip to Bend. I had a wonderful time, grateful for the opportunity to spend so much time with only him and grateful for the friends and family who
Affection for the Unknown Read More »
I have been doing a lot of reading lately , specifically with VietNam as the subject (not surprising, I know). I’m not particularly interested in the gruesome nature of the war there. I hate war. I hate the killings. I hate the inhuman aspect. Most of all, I hate the after-effects. Two-thirds of the Vietnamese
We Must Not Forget Read More »
A month or so ago, the organization that is handling the logistics of our volunteer trip got me in contact with another single mom who was contemplating spending some time in Viet Nam orphanages, as well. She lives in New Zealand and has a daughter a few years younger than mine. So, we’ve been chatting
