the beauty of an ordinary life
"Home," as Jimmy Carter wrote, in a piece for The Bitter Southerner, "is a complicated idea." I've been sewing in the mornings, sitting in my chair by the window, sipping coffee and stitching in the few quiet moments before other more immediate responsibilities take the stage, which usually isn't very long. Sewing, and this kind … Continue reading Something about sewing.
This has to come in two parts, I'm afraid, because instead of writing tonight I spent the evening in the kitchen with my daughter, talking about Marie of France. We were talking about books we liked, and I mentioned the book I'd just finished reading for my book group. "What was it about?" my daughter … Continue reading Generations, part one.
Untitled, by Susan Austin, c. 1985Let me tell you about my friend Susan. Although, honestly, I should first tell you that my plan today was to share a bit about Bill and Joel (no, I didn't mean Billy Joel; don't be daft). I have that piece all written and ready for finishing touches, and it … Continue reading Susan.
Here's what I know about my generation: we are like the small area of Venn diagram overlap between the two enormous spheres that are Millennials and Baby Boomers. As Whitney Collins wrote in a great Salon piece, we're the meh between me and more. Though there's some (pointless) debate about bookend years, we GenXers are … Continue reading X, with an xo.
My grandfather, my father’s father, and his sister Julia lived next door to one another from the mid 1930s, when they built their houses, until they died decades later. Their yards were connected by a garden path, their lives communal. My father was an only child, and his four cousins living next door were more … Continue reading Are you my family?
This week's Princeton Alumni Weekly features a piece by Anne-Marie Slaughter written as a follow-up to her widely distributed and much discussed piece published in The Atlantic this summer about women's ability (or lack thereof) to "have it all." Reading her report of the both criticisms and praise she received in response to her article … Continue reading The all-you-can-eat buffet.
jenny's lark 