A couple weeks ago, during the first full week of Lent, I saw a homeless man riding the Tucson streetcar. His belongings were crammed into six or seven grocery bags corralled over a stretch of about three feet. Clothing and empty plastic bottles were pushing out of the bags like butterflies trying to escape their …
Getting cheesed over parents throwing it at babies
There are times in my life when I want to say something like, "How were these people allowed to be parents?!!!?" Today is one of those days. The internet is ga-ga over the latest viral video showing parents throwing slices of American cheese at their infants and toddlers. An Inside Edition video asks if this …
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That one time I lost my new-mommy mind
I recently met a soon-to-be mom who shared a litany of worries with me: which car seat to buy, how to pay for day care, how to raise a normal kid in a social-media obsessed world, how to make sure she didn't mess up her child. She was crying and I did my best to …
Why friends matter
Today, as often happens to me during the winter, I struggled to stay awake. I'm pretty certain humans are supposed to hibernate in the dreary grayness of winter, or maybe it is just this particular human who is wired that way. Regardless, from December through March, I often feel like I should be in a …
They say age is only a number. They may be lying.
The problem with turning 60 is the panic. Just yesterday, I was 16, dressed in a sparkly leotard and ballet flats, doing perfect splits on a rainy high school football field at halftime, arms aloft, head tilted up to the press box, my face breaking from holding the smile. Just yesterday, I was 18, kissing …
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An alternative to the standard questions
One of my favorite memories is a conversation I had nearly 15 years ago with a colleague who had returned from a trip to Ireland. I asked him what most impressed him while there, thinking it would be the pubs, or the sweeping lush green of the landscapes or maybe sheep crossing the road like …
Embracing my inner crazy old lady
There’s a chance I may have slipped into crazy old lady territory. Evidence? I just took a 3-mile afternoon walk wearing dress slacks and a sweater, a grey puffy vest, cobalt blue tennis shoes, a pink scarf fetchingly wrapped around my head for warmth and – wait for it – a hiking hat to block …
How to train a Christmas angel
The angel in our nativity scene - I call her Joy - falls down a lot. She can’t seem to stay put, no matter how often I wrestle her four-inch-tall frame back onto the tiny nail sticking out of our stable's plywood roof. Joy only has one job, to stand guard over the stable, wings …
What happens when we lose newspapers
It has been nearly a decade since Tucson went from having two daily newspapers down to one, and the effect of that loss have been difficult for me to watch. As a former reporter who worked for the now-defunct Tucson Citizen, it pains me every day I see stories go uncovered. The remaining daily - …
Fear-based parenting
A few months ago, my grandson and I attended the grand opening of a new playground. It was his third birthday, and he was thrilled about all the festivities, especially that there were police officers attending. All in all, it was pretty great event, until I became the latest target of parenting (and grandparenting) in …
