It was my husband's birthday last week. His favorite dessert that I make is red velvet cake, although rhubarb dream bars and any kind of pie are not to be sneezed at. I usually make the cake sometime around Christmas, but last December I decided a lot of things were less important than my sanity… Continue reading Things I Have Learned from Cake
Category: Memories
Elephants, and Friends
It's been kind of a rough day. I've spent a lot of time trying not to cry, which is exhausting and, at least for me, ultimately futile. I have no dire news; nothing has happened to me or my immediate family. But one way or another, a lot of people I care about are in… Continue reading Elephants, and Friends
Sicky, Sicky Boy
Elias was home sick from school today. (He’s fine. Also he’s not contagious.) I took him to express care and let the chatter in the waiting room wash over us without taking much of it in. He sat next to me on a Naugahyde loveseat and burrowed into my armpit. I reached around to rub… Continue reading Sicky, Sicky Boy
Seven
Seven years ago, in the evening, I was leaving a board meeting for a chorus I was singing with, and my cell phone rang. It was our caseworker. "Baby was born," she said. She'd called the house a couple of times, finally rousing Paul from sleep for a confused conversation. He'd managed to wake up… Continue reading Seven
Daddy Eggs
For breakfast this fine holiday morning, we had a bit of nostalgia. As Paul and I lolled in bed at a shocking 7:00 AM (remember, this is a man who rises daily without an alarm at the inhuman hour of 4:45), he said, "Ugh. I don't feel like making breakfast." He does, most days. He… Continue reading Daddy Eggs
Strawberry Shortcake
Last night, Paul distracted the two-legged mauraders long enough to gather a nice bowlful from the strawberry patch. He requested accompaniment. We are picky about shortcake in our family, truth be told. The first time I was served angel food cake under the name shortcake, I thought there had surely been a tragic mixup. My… Continue reading Strawberry Shortcake
Oh, That Again
For a person who spends a fair amount of time examining the workings of her own brain and then posting them on the internet, I am sometimes not very self-aware. Over the past week, I have been sleeping fitfully, trying to keep myself from eating everything in sight, and maintaining a tenuous grip on my… Continue reading Oh, That Again
The Scent of Memory
There was a lilac bush by the house I grew up in, by the little balcony on the one side of the house. The house was built into a hill, so if you ran up the stairs on the outside, you'd end on the second floor. The balcony was at the top of the stairs, by a… Continue reading The Scent of Memory