During the pandemic year, Amos* and I have been living with our families. First, we stayed with his parents and adult brother. Then, when mom’s cancer returned, I went to stay with my parents and their adult child, interspersed with time at my widowed grandmother’s house. It feels odd,…
There are many ways to hold a Thanksgiving dinner. Often, we throw a party when good things happen. A father celebrates when his missing son comes home. A child is born, people marry, finish school, or get promoted. The harvest comes in, a trade deal is made, or fattened…
Little Women is a Civil War-era novel of close friendship among four sisters, and in one of the more vivid scenes, Amy worries about her dying sister while trying to please her wealthy aunt… and resolves this tension around money, life, and death by writing her own will. I could…
If the women in your life disappeared, what would happen? Reading about this today, I realized I’d find it hard to get much done: no bus driver to take me to work no one to purchase the library’s journals no one to manage the students who lend books no…
I’m a big pusher for libraries. “Did you know they have free stuff?” I say. You roll your eyes. Yes, you know. “I mean, they have books, but did you know they have other free stuff?” *** It’s easy to take the free thing for granted, but many early…
I’ve been interested in genealogy ever since a childhood 4-H project, where I carefully wrote each person’s names with colored rhinestones on a poster. Even now, I enjoy exploring historic records and helping others find out more about their families. But genealogy can appear expensive — so this piece…
I still remember getting an apple, an orange, and a crisp two-dollar bill one Christmas. When my great-grandfather handed us each a piece of fruit, I carried it to the car, tucked my cold feet on the heater, and compared the crisply scratched apple with the spicy rumpled skin…
I’ll be back to Maine next week for Thanksgiving with my husband’s folks. It should be fun. The day after Amos and I got married, I met my new Aunt Beth. She brought out a long genealogy that outlined my husband’s mother’s family’s place in the world. These, of course, are…
My grandfather Bob Fischer passed away today, just shy of his 81st birthday. A few years ago, I asked him to tell me about his childhood, his working life, and his family life. Our conversation is long, but I’d love to share it with you. I’m happy to pass it…
On a sunny day this past June, my friends Linnea Katzen* and Colin Hill* got married. Right away, people asked Linnea for her new name. They called her Mrs. Hill. She didn’t ruffle feathers in public, but her discussions in private were fierce. Linnea wanted to keep her own….