I grew up in Paris. I went to French school, learned to read in French, and when we moved home my parents said Hilary and I were mostly playing together in French. Point is, I spoke fluent French. These days? Not so much. I can barely remember any words, and I certainly can’t read it [...]
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” (Louisa May Alcott) This quote, long known to me, has been in my mind lately. It occurred to me yesterday that overall, though, I feel a strange combination of storm-tossed and run aground. Both whipped around in a frenzy of [...]
(apologies for reposting, this got inadvertently deleted and I care about this post so wanted it back on the site – I am so sorry to have lost all of your thoughtful comments!) you probably can’t tell, but the curtain has already come down around me (late fall 2002) After Terresa honored me by interviewing [...]
A song I love by Mat Kearney came on while I was running yesterday, and one line was stuck in my head all day: I guess we’re all one phone call from our knees. The song was referring to a phone call bearing bad news. And I thought of the phone ringing in the middle [...]
The first two children of the 402-403 Forbes family, summer 2003 and spring 2010. Grace and Tate, age 1 and age 7. Long may they – and we all – be friends. I love you, Court. Email this post
Grace has strep. Again. Putting aside my worries about what the since-January roller coaster of strep-mono-strep means, I enjoyed a day with her yesterday. She feels basically fine but could not go to school until she’d been on the antibiotics for 24 hours (this time I was more forceful with the nurse and asked that [...]
During my run yesterday I was aware of the wild abandon with which the trees in my neighborhood have burst into bloom. The magnolias in particular always remind me, with visceral power, of spring in Princeton. Magnolias, their smell, their color, their silhouette against a blue sky, are as inextricably linked with my four springs [...]
Sometimes when Whit wakes me up in the night, I feel like I am swimming towards his voice through extra thick, viscous water. I often feel a little unsure of the direction his voice is in in the first place, and it is definitely an effort to focus on it and to locate him. That’s [...]
In the church, I force myself to look up into Mary’s eyes, to study the twisted agony of her mouth. I kiss my baby’s sleeping head, bend down to press my nose to the fragrant scalp of my own son, squeeze the hand of Sam’s older daughter. I am so sorry to see the limp [...]
I was fortunate to hear Anne Lamott talk and read last night. I went with my dear friend from college, Kathryn (check out her blog!) and we both sat, mesmerized (though a bit distracted by the aggressive curry soup that the guy on my left cracked open) as Anne made the audience laugh, sigh, laugh [...]
