On the wisdom of Gandalf

The first one comes in the fall of Jessica’s junior year, a letter from the admissions office of Kansas State University. I don’t immediately recognize what it is. Once I do, for a moment hope flaps its vain and tinsel wings. Maybe it’s true. Maybe my daughter can go to college, and get a great…

The other night I had a dream that Jessica was lost, and though I kept calling for her, I knew she was never coming back. I hate this dream. Sometimes it goes away for a while, but it is never gone. In a few weeks Jessica undergoes more testing. In February when we scheduled the…

 The most important story you’ll ever tell isn’t the one you commit to a page. It’s the one you tell yourself about your life. The other day, I was listening to a colleague tell me about the lack of support she was getting from her family as she pursued a freelance career. This is a…

So I had excellent intentions of embarking on a blog challenge that started April 1, and suddenly here it is, practically the middle of June. I don’t normally ignore my blog for that long, and some of you have asked me privately if everything is all right, and I appreciate that. Jessica is fine—in fact,…

The other day, I made the mistake of saying the word “anywho” to a friend who is a lifelong New Yorker.  If you’ve never heard this word, it means you’re not a midwesterner, and I can’t explain it.  Anyway, my friend suggested that I should probably avoid such provincialisms in the future or else people…