I was a tiny preschooler, pumping away on my tricycle, near tears because the big kids were leaving me behind. Today, I was a lot older — and left in the dust again. Read more. 

A Case of the Human Condition: When a Six-Year-Old Flies Solo

6-year-old boy dressed as cowboy. photo by barbara newhall

6-year-old boy dressed as cowboy. photo by barbara newhall

My mother-in-law was on the phone. Could my 6-year-old son Peter come to Southern California for a week’s visit with her? “A week?” I thought. Could I get along without my little son for a whole week? Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Four-Year-Old Girls — The Last Bastion of Pretty

4 preschool ballerinas in tutus at barre. Photo by BF Newhall

four pretty preschool girls in tutus at the ballet barre. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Pink dresses. Powder blue dresses. Dresses with nosegays, kitty cats and sunbursts. Are little girls the last hold-outs for pretty these days? Read more.

When a Grown Daughter Doesn’t Call — Or, How to Overmother a Twenty-Something

Christina Newhall with cell phone. Photo by BF Newhall

Christina Newhall with cell phone. Photo by BF Newhall

Christina hadn’t called. We had dropped her at the airport hours ago. The flight to Burbank takes only seventy minutes. She should be home by now. But Jon and I still hadn’t gotten the, “I’m home. The plane didn’t crash. My roommate remembered to pick me up, and we didn’t get mugged in the garage,” phone call. Read more.

A Child Is Born — And So Is a Grandpa

FALCONER-family-1940s

Berrypicking grandfather and grandson. Photo by BF Newhall

My friend Jake is a man in his prime. He does triathlons, reads good books, knows all the best hiking trails and drinks nice wines. Jake has never been anybody’s rickety old grandpa — until recently, when Jake’s daughter gave birth to a baby girl. Read more.

The Writing Room: Different From, Different Than – Which Is It?

[caption id="attachment_7493" align="aligncenter" width="500"]books on shelf by john gardener, sands hall, strunk and white, noah lukeman, robert mckee, theodore m bernstein, stephen koch, susan shaughnessy. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall Some of my favorite books on the craft of writing. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall[/caption]

I was at the gym working on my pecs and abdominals the other day when I spotted a flyer announcing, “Belly fat is different than other fat.” Shouldn’t that be different from? What’s correct? I hadn’t a clue. Read more.

A (Pillow) Case of the Human Condition: Time to Crack Open That Hope Chest and Live a Little

hand embroider pillowcase with french knots & daisies. Photo by BF Newhall.

hand embroider pillowcase with french knots & daisies. Photo by BF Newhall.

I waited too long to get married. By the time Jon and I said our vows, the contents of my hope chest had become outdated, old-fashioned, fussy — unusable. As a result, after thirty some years of marriage, I continue to be the owner of a dozen or so beautiful, hand-embroidered, virginal pillowcases. Read more.