What I Did
Impulse Control
My husband might point out that one of my most economical and endearing traits is that I simply don’t shop. Almost all of my clothes come from a trusted online catalog; I have a limited roster of clothes that are best described as a uniform of black pants, white top and a selection of cotton…
Read MoreIt Could Be You
Every day promptly at five o’clock, our two dogs rouse themselves from their relentless relaxation and trot up to Nick’s office to agitate for a walk. At the very least, the dogs have a good sense of time, but I wonder if they also have a sense of a hopeful future – do they hope…
Read MoreBest in Show
A couple of weeks ago, Nick and I found the TV offerings particularly desolate and we struggled to stitch together a reasonable combination of a primary TV show and a toggling alternative. After much flailing about, we hit upon the unusual combination of the Westminster Dog Show and a documentary about snipers. The sniper show…
Read MoreRoad Rage
Yesterday I had a medical meeting at O’Hare, but since I had lent my son Ned my car for the rest of the school year, I went to my father’s to borrow one of his. I was running late, and as I headed off to the airport I noticed the gas gauge was hovering near…
Read MoreCorporate Bonding
I have always wondered what goes on in a locker room before the big game. Growing up in the pre Title 9 world of women’s sports, there was simply no such thing as a big game. The only thing going on in our pregame locker room was putting on the uniform, if one even existed. …
Read MoreIn Transit
During my 30+ years of working life, I have migrated from working into the office to home to the office and back again, each time in search of the perfect combination of work environment and family demands. When Ned was an infant I made my first attempt to “work from home” and found it to…
Read MoreThe Great Unraveling
On December 18th, with great sadness and some relief, I was officially booted out of the sandwich generation. My mother had died a year and half earlier, but her death did not change my every day life that much. She had really been in her own world for the previous three years or so, so…
Read MoreSimply Christmas
This year we enjoyed an immensely satisfying Thanksgiving, filled with a harmonious family of 28 with ages ranging from 2 months to 85 years old, representing 4 different generations. We hosted the event at our house, and I had adopted two tricks that my mother had used for large groups. I listed a chore on…
Read MoreMy Saggin’ Wagons
A couple of years ago we decided to break the pattern of our holiday celebrations, unchanged for the past 25 years. Instead of traipsing from one suburb to the next to touch bases with as many family members as possible, we decided that the four of us would take off on a family vacation where…
Read MorePathologic Memories
As an anatomic pathologist, I am frequently in a dilemma when asked what kind of work I do. For non-physicians the answer almost invariably requires further explanation. Sometimes I include the explanation all in one breath, “I’m a pathologist. We do autopsies and analyze anything that is removed at surgery, like an appendix or a…
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