The Seeming Impossibility of Motherhood: Letting Go While Still Entwined
Our children are just coming to the age when everything depends on my efforts. They are delicate in health, and nervous and […]
How to Get Divorced
“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.” Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” YouTube is […]
In Which Auntie Leila is Undeniably Correct About Tablecloths
If you came of age in the 21st century, there is a good chance you lack basic skills once viewed as necessary […]
The Homeschool Mother’s Essential Summer Reading: Sarah Mackenzie’s “Teaching from Rest”
“Restful learning is not throwing all care to the wind, eschewing worthy goals such as mastery of math facts, the ability to […]
Don’t Date to Make Friends and Other Thoughts on the Tragedy of Postmodern Dating
If you publicly advocate for marrying people you meet in college and spend most of your time singing the praises of motherhood, […]
“Gift from the Sea,” Grace, and a Woman at Peace with Herself
The source of our agitation is rarely external. We want badly to believe that someone else bears the blame for our sour […]
Noel Streatfeild’s “Ballet Shoes”: The Rhythms and Routines of Life and the People Who Make them Happen
Summer is the time in between, a time for reimagining the patterns of ordinary life. Once September is underway with a crush […]
The Pattern of a Beautiful Summer in Wallace Stegner’s “Crossing to Safety”
Wallace Stegner, the legendary author of the American West, also spent time teaching in New England. A keen observer, he recreates the […]
In Praise of Soft Girl Summer
There’s something irresistibly whimsical about the exhortation to “heal your feminine energy.” That is the invitation of “Soft Girl Summer,” some kind […]
Summer and Keeping the Big Picture in Mind
It’s easy to wax poetic about summer: endless open time, seemingly endless hours of evening light. The reality can involve more children […]