Sep 15, 2020Week 26: 2 AM WorriesLast weekend was hot. Not the heavy, sticky hot of an East Coast heat wave — where you know a thunderstorm will eventually tamp the humidity. The Southern California heat felt like an oven door left open, ready to burn what lies too close. The sun now casts a…Covid-194 min readCovid-194 min read
Jul 20, 2020Weeks summer and mid-summer: What’s Worse? (A Story)Once upon a time there lived a family in a lovely village with lovely people. They enjoyed going to school and seeing their friends and playing outside. One winter, the family heard all sorts of rumors about an invisible bug that floated in the air and was making people sick…Quarantine6 min readQuarantine6 min read
Jun 22, 2020Weeks 12 and 13: Keep TryingThis week we drove to school to turn in some of the materials the kids shoved haphazardly in their book bags on March 13. We left the end-of-year drop off with a bag full of half used school supplies, hopeful paintings of scarecrows and snowmen, and a summer packet. …Quarantine4 min readQuarantine4 min read
Jun 2, 2020Weeks 10 and 11: Into the History BooksWhat I have to say about life in a pandemic doesn’t seem particularly important this week. But this space has always been about what it feels like, to me, to live in this moment. This week feels like when you can hear electricity buzzing so loudly it tingles down your…Quarantine3 min readQuarantine3 min read
May 20, 2020Weeks 8 and 9: Stop WaitingI don’t know that I have a consistent writing process but the closest I have goes like this: open a blank page, stare at it for several minutes, get up for a drink, sit back down, type a few words, get up to get a snack, sit back down, erase…Quarantine4 min readQuarantine4 min read
May 7, 2020Weeks 6/7: Balancing ActWeek 7: Balancing Act This week there’s been a quiet buzz, barely perceptible but impossible to ignore — like a scent you can’t place, or a piece of grass grazing your leg, or a hint of cinnamon in a chocolate chip cookie. Our beaches have partially opened (no chairs, no blankets, no sunbathing; yes…Coronavirus4 min readCoronavirus4 min read
Apr 27, 2020Weeks 5/6: Us and ThemThey’re protesting because they want to be able to go to the park and the beach. I know, we do too. But we’re going to wait until its safe. Well, I guess they think it is safe. Because there is a lot that we don’t know about this virus so…Covid-193 min readCovid-193 min read
Apr 16, 2020Week 4/5: Growing PainsWeek 4/5: Growing Pains Here we are, again. Still. Not much has changed from last week. Is that good news or bad? We’re wearing masks now (good news or bad?). It’s funny how you can still tell someone’s expression from a mask. …Covid-193 min readCovid-193 min read
Apr 7, 2020Week 3: CocooningWe got news that we’ll most likely, probably, 99.9 but not 100% definitely out of school until the new year begins. Of course, we knew this was coming. It’s not like it was a surprise. Still, the news breezed in and snuffed out a candle. My fourth grader is going…Covid-194 min readCovid-194 min read
Mar 30, 2020COVID Week 2: This is not a drillWhen I was a kid, we used to practice air raid drills. Even though I knew they were drills and an evil Russian bomb wasn’t hurling through the ether aiming for my classroom, I still felt an initial surge of adrenaline. I’d sit under my desk and smile at my…Covid-193 min readCovid-193 min read
