But You’ll Love My Dog

People are surprised to hear that, for a person who has nine much-doted-upon children, I really don’t have much tolerance for kids. I never ask to hold the new baby. And most children are pretty demanding and boring, even if their dear and beleaguered parents have done their best. People are surprised to hear that,…

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The Bright Blessing of Silly Stuff

This is how a Christmas tree looks when you have wrapped all the presents for nine kids, their two spouses and one grandchild … I am completely certain that there is not one single item under this tree that any of these people actually needed to go on living. I know that I should be…

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Let Some Things Stay the Same

George and Amal Clooney seem to be having a pretty good life. I’m not in their league. The politicians and criminals that show up in my news feed seem to be having uniformly rotten lives. I’m not in their league either.  I’m not on vacation at the Amalfi Coast or celebrating the million-dollar payoff on…

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Ghost Stories Worthy of The Name

The light in my room is dim … winter light … a day hardly ever gets started this time of year before it rounds the turn and chugs toward the resumption of darkness. I love darkness. In the night, I need my room to be absolutely dark. I draw the darkness over me like a…

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