My five year old came home sick on the sixth day of school. He had forgotten his allergy meds that morning so at first we all thought his congestion was the result of a missed dose, and he asked for his Zyrtec as soon as we walked in the door. From there he got worse.... Continue Reading →
At Long Last
Kids can be excited to go back to school and also pretty nervous. My kids' school closed down early in the pandemic and I was so grateful for the option to continue their education through virtual learning. We were on spring break when things started to get bad in other parts of the state, and... Continue Reading →
We Remember
I took some time off from the blog to focus on my intense anxiety around my kids returning to school, but before I write about that I want to focus on my city for a minute. I've moved around my whole life. It's what I expect for the rest of my life, even though my... Continue Reading →
The Homeowner’s Handbook
Rule #1 of owning a home: once you decide to spend money on your house, something will break/explode/leak. Same for spending money on the rest of your life. Everything is settling down, you've saved up to take a trip, and as soon as you hop on a plane, your parents call to let you know... Continue Reading →
Don’t Build Walls, Build Attractive Walls
In El Paso, as well as other cities on the border, it's customary to build stone walls around your property rather than a picket fence, a style that originated with our neighbors in Mexico. It was jarring a first to see heavy rock walls rather than wooden fences, but its practical. Wood in the desert,... Continue Reading →
It’s All In My Head
Do you ever picture something you want and when you go to find that thing you can't? It doesn't exist, you just designed your perfect item and then were crushed to discover you could not, in fact, purchase that item? That happens to me all the time. You'd think someone would have offered me some... Continue Reading →
The Smell of Pencils in the Fall
Shoppers know that after the Fourth of July the pool floats and sunscreen get moved to the clearance rack and the school supplies take over. I always thought it seemed cruel to roll out the notebooks and crayons so soon when I was dreading going back to school. Then I had kids and enrolled them... Continue Reading →
A Different Swamp
The week the world began to panic about COVID-19, we were in Houston visiting my in-laws. We drove straight home to El Paso, not wanting to have any contact with potential super-spreaders before we could hide out in our house for a while. "A while" turned out to be about fifteen months. This week, we... Continue Reading →
Show And Tell
Regular readers know I recently attempted to write a full-length novel. I "finished" it, meaning I wrote it from start to finish, but it needs a lot of tender love and care. If my book were a house, it wouldn't just need window dressings. You'd walk into the kitchen and find that it had no... Continue Reading →
It’s Probably Stress
While I was on vacation, I ate bread that did not make my stomach upset. When I returned, I ate the same bread and felt sick. A rational person might just stop eating bread that made them ill, but I adore bread. My favorite food is sandwiches (like Joey from Friends) and no it is... Continue Reading →