Sometimes, while doing the most mundane things, an entire series of events—starting at the mundane thing and ending somewhere else—pops into my head. Like this one. As a kid, I never learned how to floss. Probably my dentist Dr. Silver taught me, along with some dollops of shame about my general oral hygiene habits. He … Read more
Walking through ASU’s basketball stadium, following the floor dots and sandwich boards on my way to get my second COVID shot, I was a little overwhelmed. Part of it is our good fortune in medicine. I don’t think vaccines are 100% good, safe, effective, or administered on an appropriate schedule, but with a virus that’s … Read more
(Just a heads up: this post contains affiliate links, as well as the background behind how I came to use them. Because I’ve historically not been an affiliate kind of gal.) When I was in seventh grade, my basketball coach told the team that drinking soda during the season was bad for our game. I … Read more
“Hey, you got a card from someone,” The Climbing Daddy said one day last week when he brought in the mail. There wasn’t an occasion or anything attached to it—just a card that said, in sum, “I’m glad our paths crossed” from a relatively new friend. It was lovely. It made my day. I have … Read more
Austin Kleon had written in one of his newsletters his answers to seven pandemic questions. I asked my newsletter people their answers. Here are their responses, my responses, and Rocket Kid’s responses. Question 1: What’s one thing you made this year? I asked people to upload a photo, but the few brave enough to answer … Read more
I’ve been talking about writing a book for over a decade, and I finally did it! Initially, I was going to self-publish, but with feedback from an editor who has been in the business for a long time, I decided to submit it for publication. Said editor has the manuscript right now; I expect it … Read more
It finally happened. I reached the limit for how heavy I am willing to be. I didn’t know ahead of time what that was. It’s not something I’ve kept in mind all along. I just reached the point where I had to say, “No more!” When I went back to school in 2016, I gained … Read more
The Kid and I were talking about our school-day mornings recently. On that particular day, I had woken up half an hour before the alarm. The alarm is half an hour before I need to wake The Kid, and I wake him half an hour before we need to leave. I got up and took … Read more
We recently replaced our vacuum with a cordless vacuum. It’s remarkably easier to vacuum now. Doing the living room “real quick” actually happens. Getting the bedroom done while the vacuum is out is no big deal. The hallway between the main living spaces and where we store the vacuum has never been cleaner. Doing just … Read more
It’s been almost a year since my household stopped doing normal life. The last time we went to the climbing gym was March 14. I’m sure we ate out that night. Some things have been hard. There are people who I would see casually, not necessarily people I’d set up a Zoom with, who I … Read more