Category Archives: Uncategorized

Katherine, thoughtful

We were reading Owl Moon (thanks, Heidi!) this evening, and Katherine seemed game to try sounding out a few words.  With a bit of help, she got “song,” and then she remembered that that is part of her name: “Birdsong … Continue reading

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One of those times: when you realize your children are not yours alone

While Sydney and I were in the kitchen this afternoon, we suddenly heard Katherine break out in song: “Hey, Jude, don’t make it bad.  Take a sad sooooooooong and make it better.  Remember to let her into your heart . … Continue reading

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eulogy

[I wrote the following eulogy for my mom’s funeral on Thursday.] It would be impossible to say anything much about my mother and her life without describing her in terms of her human relationships. She was: a daughter a sister … Continue reading

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Loss

On Sunday evening Sydney received a call from his brother, Nelson.  Their mother, Dora, had just died after a battle with cancer that lasted nearly two years, and that involved surgery, rounds of chemo, and trips to Mexico for further … Continue reading

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Travel

I went to Pennsylvania this past weekend for a conference.  $118 for a three-day car rental got me to Pennsylvania and back (and some driving across Pennsylvania in-between, to pick up a cousin).  I put 1450 miles on that car … Continue reading

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“A lot”

Me: “Nathaniel, you have a lot of Lego airplanes!” Nathaniel, looking concerned at my ineptitude: “No.  I have three.  One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, [murmur murmur] fifteen.  Now that’s a lot!” Erin

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furrowed brow

In the past few weeks, I’ve had a couple of colleagues I’ve known since my grad-school days tell me that they’re expecting their first child.  They know that Sydney and I did a lot of juggling of school and baby … Continue reading

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I know, I know: all you want are the pictures

Both kids are doing really well right now.  Both have made great strides at reining in tempers, helping with household chores, and taking care of each other.  Katherine is quite proud that she can make her bed by herself (since … Continue reading

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Spring

If you’ve been wondering at our silence recently, I have a few thoughts that might help clear things up: – Both Sydney and I have been working hard to keep up with new courses (oh, yes, and in his case, … Continue reading

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One of the many reasons I like my work

I teased my dean that he needs his own assigned table in the cafeteria, since he’s always in a lunch meeting with someone, and then he said, “When else can I meet with faculty?”  I warned him that I would … Continue reading

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