Yes, people, we finally leave Chicago in this latest installment of We Are Never Moving Again. Now, where were we? Ah yes, we were seven hours into what was already promising to be the longest move of our lives. And our movers had brought the not-at-all-agreed-upon truck. And our “moving specialist” had gone radio silent. (Earth silent, really.) And the heart-wrenching day of Meaningful Goodbyes was quickly turning into a fire sale. Because. When the moving broker finally deigned to {Read More}
Chicago to the Berkshires, Part 2: So, moving brokers?
July 23, 2020 By Leave a Comment
OKIE doke. So. Can we talk about moving brokers in this one? Previously, on Chicago to the Berkshires (Part 1), our heroine found herself in a weepy puddle of nostalgia, compounded by a very real timeline of leavin’ town, with a nice dash of “haven’t slept for days n’ days” to really punch up the bawling. I think I did a fairly good job of portraying the feelings and emotions and everything else ramping up to the move…but what of {Read More}
My grief during quarantine: A selfish/justified lament.
April 30, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Grief is weird. I can’t keep a thought in my head. Not for very long, anyhow. It’s like Tron all up in there, with neon thoughts zipping around and pinging off of walls. (Wait, that’s Tron, isn’t it? Or am I thinking of Pong with with the addition of laser sounds?) We should have the kids watch Tron, once I remember what it is. But definitely not Blade Runner– too real. This is my problem. This is one of my {Read More}
We’ve got news.
March 25, 2020 By Leave a Comment
And our news is… We’re selling our home. Packin’ up and movin’ out. Hittin’ the trail. (Abusin’ the metaphors.) We’re beginning the end of our time in this impossibly gorgeous (and gorgeously impossible) house. But before we get into that, let me explain a little bit about where we’re going. And why. (The “how” is delightfully nebulous.) So. I moved to Chicago in the summer of 2002- close to 18 years ago- and P.J. has been here for almost 20. {Read More}
My goal for 2020? To take care of others- and myself
December 10, 2019 By 2 Comments
Exactly one year ago, I weighed 117 pounds. I was in severe pain; my belly, my ribs, my brain. For a month, nothing was “officially” wrong. Blood tests were fine, organ functions were skipping along, and- if you disregarded the fact that I couldn’t eat a thing- my doctors assured me that I was all good. I would wake up in in the middle of the night, weeping, panic gripping my chest, the knowledge that I was actually dying keeping {Read More}
3 unusual things that are emerging as I age
June 21, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Happy summer! Happy solstice! Happy roughly ten weeks of zero public school drop off, pick up, stand up, sit down, fight fight fight! (And to my longtime readers/framily, happy “We know you’re going to be posting with the regularity of a cheerfully confused wombat” season to us all!) As I enter into this highly anticipated season with my kids, the wind-down of the school year has allowed my brain to acknowledge some rather unusual things about myself that have started {Read More}
39 and feeling good and indulgent birthday posts
June 6, 2019 By 2 Comments
39. Good gracious. There’s something so self-indulgent about a birthday blog post, isn’t there? Thanks for indulging my self-indulgence. Today, I am 39. Thirty nine. That’s…a number right there. (Special note to friends and family over the age of 39: Thanks in advance for not smacking me upside the head. Because I’m gonna talk about it a little bit longer.) Because 39. It feels heavy. Like, your parents are 39, right? (Except they’re totally not; they’re most likely 50 and {Read More}
Change…is hard.
May 2, 2019 By 2 Comments
Change. …is hard. That could be the whole dang post right there, couldn’t it? CHANGE IS HARD. (It won’t be, however, because “concise” is not my “thing.”) Sometimes- as the case was this past winter- the name of the game was Stillness. Mandatory, forced, if-you-don’t-stop-this-junk-and-stay-still-your-brain-will-break Stillness. At first it was incredibly difficult and felt more like stagnation than a resting period. (Then I got over that real real quick and took daily naps and read entire mystery series and had {Read More}
