Last night I got smacked in the face yet again by the fact that my sweet baby boy is a grown-up, an adult, a man.

It's a bittersweet feeling.

My son is a police officer. (Listen, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around that.) He called the other night to tell us he was taking an Intoximeter training class at the state police facility for the week. Since this is reasonably close to home, I told him… Read More

My family is cursed with rotten sinuses. My Aunt Tillie had so much trouble with her sinuses that she lost her sense of smell. My Dad was addicted to decongestant nasal sprays for years.

I suffer with sinus headaches and sinusitis too. It's the pressure I can't stand -- it's as if my head was a pressure cooker about to pop.

Yes, I know about neti pots and nasal irrigation, but I can't bring myself to pour a teapot full of saltwater… Read More

Hurray for Daylight Savings Time! I don't care what anybody says; I love it.

I've never been officially diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I must say that I'm noticeably happier when the days are longer. My mood is better and I have more energy. In winter, on the other hand, I'm sluggish and unmotivated. The only thing that keeps me from curling up in bed and hibernating is Christmas -- I'm convinced it's because of all the lights keeping the… Read More

I'm going over to my mother's home today. I'll take her to lunch and we'll go grocery shopping, then I'll help her with her checkbook. If she's hosting the bridge game this week, I'll set up the table and chairs and cluck understandingly when she complains about being too old to put up with "this nonsense."

My mother is 95 years old.

When we're done with all the chores, I'll sit with her and look at the photo albums. This is the… Read More

I learned to juggle in 1973, when I was a junior in college. I went to a week-long mime workshop where one of the classes was an introduction to juggling. It took me almost two weeks to finally get comfortable with the cascade, which is the most basic three-ball pattern. I juggled a lot when I was clowning and got to be pretty good. But when I got a day job, got married and had a kid, I put my… Read More

Three years ago, my sister took me to my very first National Hockey League game. The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers and I fell in love with ice hockey. It's not just the skating that thrills me, although that's amazing in and of itself, it's the teamwork, the speed and the skills behind the sticks that really make the game memorable for me. I love the suspense of the shootout, the passion behind the power play, and especially the… Read More