I entered the classroom of 32 seventh graders at the worst time imaginable – seventh period on a Friday afternoon, the weekend before winter break. I knew the deck was stacked against me. I had been warned by the very enthusiastic teacher who asked me to read my short story as part of her unit…
My cell phone rings and Mom’s name flashes on the screen. “I’m ashamed of myself,” she whispers into the phone. “Oh, hi Mom. About what?” I ask. My mother typically begins our phone conversations as if we have been talking for a while. “I played bridge today and was stuck with a real dud for…
My husband, Ray, was diagnosed with diabetes in 1962, when he was 12 years old. Back in those days, it was a big ordeal to manage juvenile diabetes. There were no glucometers, insulin pumps or disposable syringes to ease the way or help parents keep their children’s blood sugar under control. And when, in 1985,…
I have become aware of many things since my husband Ray died. At first, it had to do with the content of my dreams – visual images and messages that brought me closer to feeling his presence in my non-waking hours. As time went on, that closeness has come through beautiful images I see in…
The year was 1968: the Vietnam War was raging, psychedelic music and drugs were “in,” Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated a week before President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and the Beatles released the White Album to mixed reviews. I was about to enter 9th grade and amidst the free love and political…
The morning of my wedding day, my mother called me into her bedroom. “Sit with me, mi alma,” she said quietly, patting the spot next to her on the bed. I sat down beside her, the softness of the mattress causing our bodies to curve into each other like a pair of parenthesis. She turned…
I consider myself a fairly educated person when it comes to medical issues. True, I am not a doctor, although I often make recommendations to my family and friends as if I had completed multiple residencies. But between personal experience and having been married to a doctor for over 30 years, I definitely have a…
Hanukkah is a holiday with many names. Some call it the Festival of Lights, while others refer to it as the Feast of Rededication or the Holiday of Miracles. When I was growing up, my friends called it Jewish Christmas. But nothing could be further from the truth. Hanukkah, while deemed a minor Jewish holiday,…
According to my good friend Selina, I scored a minus one on the “pamper scale” when we first met. Selina could book a massage or take time out for a cup of coffee without giving it a second thought. I, in the other hand, considered spending more than 15 minutes or $15 on a nonessential…
One New Year’s Eve when I was 6 years old, I stayed up way past my bedtime and, crouched behind the living room door, I looked on as my parents celebrated late into the night with friends. I watched silently as they twirled to the music of Tony Bennett, drank champagne from crystal glasses and…
