Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Marriage, Family, Dogs, and Cat
Worked for Peter Pan, It Could Work for You
My six-year old granddaughter is in this phase where she can go from zero to very deep thought in 30 seconds. Happily helping Ms. Bunny organize her refrigerator, she looked up, teared up, and said, “Nana, I don’t want to grow up. I’m scared… Continue Reading “Worked for Peter Pan, It Could Work for You”
Surviving 40 Years’ of Kids Tantrums
The question is who survived 40 years of tantrums? Me or the kids? Both, but there were some close calls. I am not naturally endowed with patience. I also never studied the art and science of parenting although I should have. I plowed in,… Continue Reading “Surviving 40 Years’ of Kids Tantrums”
Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive
If you are estranged from a family member, you might not know whether he or she is still alive. This is an odd concept for many of my friends whose families vacation together, babysit each other’s kids, and celebrate every holiday together. Would anyone… Continue Reading “Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive”
A Mom’s Turn: Sibling Rivalry is Stupid
I am sick to death of sibling rivalry. I’m also fed up with everything being pinned on moms. For heaven’s sake, usually there’s a dad around somewhere. Doesn’t anyone care who he liked best? In my family growing up, it was clear from the… Continue Reading “A Mom’s Turn: Sibling Rivalry is Stupid”
Will the Last Thought to Leave, Please Turn Off the Light?
I am doomed. If I thought I was going to do figure eights around Alzheimer’s Disease, taking first the inner edge then the outer of a perfect pair of white figure skates, laughing knowingly at my age peers stringing little beads together around a… Continue Reading “Will the Last Thought to Leave, Please Turn Off the Light?”
Parenting Throwdown
Today was a parenting throwdown that started at 5:39 a.m. with a text, ran in and out the doors of many gyms, scored a few goals, committed no fouls, and made sure no one was thrown out of the game. And I am exhausted.… Continue Reading “Parenting Throwdown”
Time to Go Home
She came to America holding a Barbie doll and wearing head phones. She wore the new clothes I’d brought and the bracelet the orphanage workers had given her as a goodbye gift. She’d lived in a children’s center in Managua, Nicaragua, for over… Continue Reading “Time to Go Home”
Do I Want to Be Cheryl Strayed or Her Mother?
It’s not that Cheryl Strayed hiked 1,100 miles, a trip chronicled in her book, Wild: Lost and Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s that she did it alone. She chose to be alone. No cell phone. No hiking partner. No thin string connecting… Continue Reading “Do I Want to Be Cheryl Strayed or Her Mother?”
Say Thank You
In the adoption world, it’s not cool for a parent to think that her kids should be grateful. When strangers come up and coo about how lucky your kids are to have you as their mom, you’re supposed to say, “Oh no, I’M the… Continue Reading “Say Thank You”
The Six O’Clock Call
At six o’clock she turned down the stove, picked up the receiver of the yellow phone on the kitchen wall and dialed the number of the place her son was living. She could hear the guy at the desk yell down the hall, telling… Continue Reading “The Six O’Clock Call”
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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