Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Marriage, Family, Dogs, and Cat
Boy Mom
Do women fall in love with their sons? Oh yes. Unconsciously following the moves of the world’s most ancient playbook, boy moms try to hide it but they can’t. They love their boys, not more than their girls, but in a way that is… Continue Reading “Boy Mom”
Time for Joy
The feminist struggle could be pretty joyless. I became a mother in the thick of it – in 1973. Should I wear a nursing bra or burn it? That was the question. Like every movement that seeks equal rights, recognition, and authenticity, feminism took… Continue Reading “Time for Joy”
The Hooked Rug
This was not what I’d had in mind. My vision was me sitting in a rocker, nursing my beautiful baby, my long hair shielding her little face from the moonlight, Joan Baez singing softly in the background. I thought having a baby would be… Continue Reading “The Hooked Rug”
What Makes a Person Lucky?
What makes a person lucky? Is it true that people make their own luck? What separates the runner who lost a leg from the one who finished the Boston Marathon 60 seconds before? Why does one family lose a son, have a terribly injured… Continue Reading “What Makes a Person Lucky?”
Beautiful and Crazy
The gist of it is this – it’s beautiful and it’s crazy. The mistake is thinking that anything in life is linear. One thing doesn’t always lead to another. Life’s a collection of events strung together by string someone found in the junk drawer.… Continue Reading “Beautiful and Crazy”
I Tried Being Jewish But It Didn’t Work
If I was Jewish, we would be having Shabbat dinner right now. We would be lighting candles and blessing the children. We might sing songs and certainly bless and drink the wine. Gentiles who think Jews have no fun because they don’t celebrate Christmas… Continue Reading “I Tried Being Jewish But It Didn’t Work”
Old Roy, Deer Slayer
I’d never seen one before but I knew what it was right away. The contraption laying at my feet underneath my dad’s old Sears picnic table was an animal trap. It sat in a heap, the chain and the two toothsome jaws, rusty with… Continue Reading “Old Roy, Deer Slayer”
How Many Chances Do You Get?
9 of 18 What’s fair, do you think? One chance? Two? Three strikes and you’re out? Say you’re a mom who left your five-year old and six-month old baby alone so you could score some heroin on the corner. Should you get another chance?… Continue Reading “How Many Chances Do You Get?”
Sit Down and Relax
I’m amazed by those with patience. Awed by people who wait without complaint, those who stay calm and bide their time until their number is called. I want to be like them but I’m not. Waiting makes me crazy. Last week, I waited with… Continue Reading “Sit Down and Relax”
Who I Admire
Man of the Year, Most Influential Woman, the 10 Best Dressed, the 100 Richest People – there’s no shortage of reference guides for who to admire. There are a lot of accomplished people out there. Our little town is full of them. We go… Continue Reading “Who I Admire”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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