Pushing on a Rope
Family
A Girl Like Her … and A Girl Like Me
Emotional day yesterday. I traveled to Hartford for the screening of Ann Fessler‘s acclaimed documentary, A Girl Like Her, which chronicles the 1 million+ women who relinquished their babies for adoption in the 1950s and ’60s. Access Connecticut, the grassroots group working to restore the right of adult adoptees born in the state to have … Continue reading
Flashback Friday — Kindest Cut
Looking for a flashback this morning, I spied this photo, which Basil framed 15 years ago: Catherine’s first haircut. You’d never guess now, seeing her waist-length mane, but she had the barest little fuzz on her head when she was born. It grew so slowly that she was past her second birthday when it became … Continue reading
Can’t shake the ghost of Halloweens past
You never know what might cause consternation around here. This week there is abject despair because I won’t be manning the door on Halloween. I’ll be teaching body sculpting on Thursday, so Catherine must step up to the plate. Somehow, this is a big deal. Not quite a problem, but a reason to opine, as … Continue reading
Flashback Friday — Pile on the Fun
As we prepare for the annual Vanech Family Leaf Removal Operation, I automatically reach for this photo: It was taken the first autumn after we moved in — back when all those chores were exciting because they were new and OURS. (It was also back when Catherine would happily grab a rake or shovel and … Continue reading
In hot water over the soup
It’s a good thing I have no feelings. Catherine, the baby who happily ate spinach and green beans, sweet potatoes and squash — and just about anything else we spooned at her — is now the teenager with very definite culinary preferences. And as a rule, soup doesn’t cut it. It’s a shame, because at … Continue reading
Birthday love
Happy birthday to my Mom, Ginger Salvatore! I will not tell you her age, but rather show you these photos, which will surely get me in hot water. I love this baby picture, even if the toy she’s sitting on looks more than a little dangerous. She is here in the front yard of her … Continue reading
It’ll be a Freaky Thursday
So, um, Catherine is dreaming up scary Halloween costumes and thinks she has a winner: The most frightening thing she could possibly be is … me. This was announced only half-jokingly at the dinner table tonight, following a dust-up that occurred when she and Basil returned home and both began talking to me at once … Continue reading
Godparent’s weekend
This weekend, once again, I’m getting a glimpse of my future. My godson, Dominic, is visiting for the weekend, taking a break from his freshman year at the University of New Haven for some familiar company and home-cooked food. To say that Basil, Catherine and I are excited is an understatement. I was sure when … Continue reading
Flashback Friday — It Must be Love
Flashback today to Oct. 1, 1961, my parents’ wedding anniversary. Fifty-two years later, they’re still going strong, having weathered all manner of crazy obstacles life has a way of throwing at us all. When I was small, it was a huge thrill to flip through their wedding album, its black-and-white chronicle somehow exciting and exotic … Continue reading
Chew on this …
Like some of you, I have tried more stress-relief remedies than I care to admit. Yoga. Reflexology. Jazzercise. Aromatherapy. Chocolate. Each has had some helpful effect, but none of them has left me stress-free. Lately, I’ve tried to accept that as a woman of a certain age with a husband, daughter, full-time job, and a … Continue reading
Pushing on a Rope 