My daughter began middle school this fall. Things have changed around here. The whole family now gets up before dawn, when the sky is so dark that even the possibility of a sunrise seems remote. D has always preferred staying up, and sleeping in, as late as possible, so the adjustment has been difficult. She tends to … Continue reading Moving up to Middle School (As a Parent)
It’s here. My daughter’s last-ever first day of school. That thirteenth, and final first day. Her senior year has begun. She looks the part. She appears confident, fit, athletic, in control. A beautiful young woman. It was twelve years ago that my husband and I worried over our little girl (and she was so little) as she … Continue reading Final First Day of School
This morning, for the first time, my daughter walked out the back door to catch the high school bus. It was 6:15, and nearly as dark as midnight. In our driveway, from behind a cluster of pine trees, I watched her walk down the street. Other teenage forms materialized out of the darkness. I felt a jolt of happiness … Continue reading Back to School (and This Time, it’s High School!)
This first morning of school, which marks the start of my daughter’s eighth grade year, was a low-stress event. By now, D is an old pro in the art of back-to-school. But of course this wasn’t always the case. Each September, I think back on some of the first of these first days. The photos that … Continue reading Back to School Days, The Early Years
With the passing of the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg last Friday, this world has lost a tenacious and tireless advocate in the cause of justice for all. The second woman elected to the Supreme Court, she served for twenty-seven years, rarely missing a day despite recurring cancer treatments in later life. Last week she lay … Continue reading The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the Pursuit of Justice, Justice
Five years have passed since I began writing Wild Trumpet Vine. In the space of that half decade, there have been many changes, naturally. We passed some major milestones, we faced some challenges, and of course we grew older. Looking back on the last five years, it gives me comfort to see that our family coped. Maybe we … Continue reading A Look Back on Five Years of Wild Trumpet Vine
By the spring of 2013, four years after planting, the red double-knockout roses along the fence had grown quite dense and bushy. In early May, they were bursting into explosive bloom. By late May, the same was true for the pink trellis roses. The trellis roses had become our favorite photo backdrop. Above, our daughter poses in a … Continue reading This is the Way the Roses Grew, (And a Daughter, Too), Part III
It’s Labor Day, a time when my family confronts our many unfinished projects of the summer. No better time, then, than to resume new posts on Wild Trumpet Vine. Some, like this one, will look back to last spring, while others will be more timely. So now, back to our leaving Paris for London in … Continue reading From Paris To London on Eurostar
My trip to Atlanta was occasioned by a reunion of old college friends from the University of Georgia. We met as freshmen living in the basement corridor of a wonderful old dorm, Rutherford Hall. We were saddened by the recent news of the decision, despite much protest (including ours), to demolish Rutherford and build a larger, … Continue reading A Small Reunion of the Rutherford Hall Gang