Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: mother
My Mother
This is a picture of my mother in 1939, taken two months after giving birth to her first child, my big brother John. One wonders how she could be so slim and so stylish. Her expression tells me that she agreed to hold the… Continue Reading “My Mother”
A Person in the World
I’m in a stage of my life where I am wanting mothering to have been one of the things I’ve done but not the only thing or even, maybe, the most important thing. Part of my wanting to get out from under the mothering… Continue Reading “A Person in the World”
Today’s Yearning
I wish I could ask my mother to dinner I wish she would stand in my kitchen I wish she would fold her arms and lean on the counter I wish she would watch me cook I wish she would set the table and… Continue Reading “Today’s Yearning”
Finding the Words, the Beautiful Words
This morning I wanted to remember Kahlil Gibran’s writing about children because I have been feeling lately like a life raft where all the people who were hanging on have swum away but they don’t want me to pull up anchor yet because they… Continue Reading “Finding the Words, the Beautiful Words”
Where is Your Fine Hat?
I woke up in the night, found a pencil and wrote the words “I miss my mother’s things” on a receipt stuck in a book on my bedside table. What set me off was reading about one of General Custer’s subordinates, described as looking… Continue Reading “Where is Your Fine Hat?”
A Person in the World
I’m in a stage of my life where I am wanting mothering to have been one of the things I’ve done but not the only thing or even, maybe, the most important thing. Part of my wanting to get out from under the mothering… Continue Reading “A Person in the World”
When Your Mother Dies
When your mother dies, you will take care of things. You’ll call her friends on the phone and tell them one by one that their friend has died. You will listen as they nod and wait for them to tell you stories about her… Continue Reading “When Your Mother Dies”
My Little Book
So this morning I knocked on the shower curtain so my husband would peek out and tell me if I looked okay. Heading to a day of big meetings, I wanted a good, “Wow, you look really sharp!” from him. I got this: “You… Continue Reading “My Little Book”
Wishing for More Weeds
In the hottest part of the summer August when our lawn turns brown Unwatered and drier than sand My mother pulls weeds Working her way up one side And down the other of the gravel driveway Pulling each dandelion growing along the Edge of… Continue Reading “Wishing for More Weeds”
Ms. Fix-It
Every time I see my kids, I want to fix something. Give advice, make a plan, counsel, analyze, and assess. This is a habit that I am trying to break. There are easier things. Tonight, I had a plan to dash from my class… Continue Reading “Ms. Fix-It”
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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