My mother was the grandma in the family. She deserved respect from our kids. Not because she’d earned it, but because she was the grandma.  Read more.

For the Kids: An Obstacle Course — Or a Fairy Circle?

FAIRY CIRCLE terraced-backyard-stairway

I tugged and dragged and rolled the old logs onto the terrace and made them into an obstacle course. Or was it a fairy circle?  Read more.

Help Me Be a Fun Grandma. I Need Ideas for My Babysitting Week

help me be a fun grandma

I agreed to provide child care for a week this summer. Help me be a fun grandma. Tell me, how do I keep two kids, 8 and 5, entertained?  Read more.

Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, Jon and Me

Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, Jon and me.

Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, Jon and me — contemplating the perils and pleasures of office romance in the era of #metoo.  Read more.

Kids Who Cheat. And Those Who Don’t

Peter Newhall makes the catch during Piedmont, CA, rec department baseball game. Photo 1991 by BF Newhall

Kids who cheat and those who don’t: My husband was disturbed by what he saw — some kids playing touch football at the park, cheating.  Read more.

The Night I Forgot to Make Dinner — A Rerun From the Archives

I forgot to make dinner

I planned a nice candlelit evening for my husband for that night, just as I’d dreamed of doing as a girl. Except I forgot to make the dinner.  Read more.

The Feminine Feminist — An Oxymoron?

girls-in-pink-tutus

The feminine feminist — is she a contradiction in terms? Can a woman wear pink to the boardroom? Inch-long fingernails to the track meet?  Read more.

A Leap Year Leap: She Asked. He Said Yes.

jon-newhall-1976

Widowed: Jon and I had been dating for several years. No marriage proposal was coming my way. But a Leap Day was. Read more.

Here Comes Another Year!

Here comes another year. Some of us have accumulated a lot of them. My glamorous Aunt Grace had racked up 98 years by the time she left the planet.  Read more.

‘Tis the Season to Declutter. Or Is It?

1960s-peace-flag

‘Tis the season to declutter — to ditch the 1960s peace flag and make room for the garlic roaster and the pickleball paddles. Or is it?  Read More.