2012-05-26T04:01:36-04:00 urn:uuid:c67aea03-c5df-41a1-8db2-9f862cc0b012 urn:uuid:41066e0f-b145-41a2-8294-7fa60b8d8f84 2009-11-25T09:54:00-05:00

If popular culture is any indication, it seems women suffer from an epidemic inability to refuse additional responsibilities. Magazines, self-help books and therapists nationwide offer heaps of advice on how to assert oneself, draw boundaries and generally say No when asked to sign on for those things for which we have little time and less interest.

urn:uuid:e507fe23-da3f-4e86-acda-b7bf202b4e49 2009-11-19T10:07:00-05:00

Disclaimer: Because my son more or less demanded that I stop using him and his life as material for my column back when he was 12 or 13, I want to make it perfectly clear to all my readers (and any legal professionals who are now retained or may be retained at some future time by aforementioned son) that this column is not about him. It’s about me. The fact that he happened to turn 21 on Saturday is mere coincidence. So help me God.

urn:uuid:be392cbb-069b-4021-b0ad-4096f3ae832e 2009-11-05T08:32:00-05:00

Every morning, Bee and I stand at the end of the driveway waiting for her bus and we look up into the branches of the elm tree that arches over the drive.

urn:uuid:fc1f857d-6acf-4999-858c-4e5aff228d1a 2009-10-30T12:17:00-04:00

So here we are, on the other side of 3-years-old, and it seems we both survived it intact. It wasn’t easy, but perhaps it made us both stronger.

urn:uuid:68ea059d-f10d-454b-a0fa-01dc1d9d2fd0 2009-10-08T08:47:00-04:00

A few weeks ago, Posey gave us all new names. Or, to be more accurate, Posey gave us all one new name. Rose.

urn:uuid:71d743db-1057-4550-a129-d4612461f164 2009-10-02T08:39:00-04:00

If it seems unlikely for a vegetarian (that would be me) to own a couple of table- bound pigs, it probably seems downright absurd that their names should be Tender and Delicious.

urn:uuid:53136fee-b888-457e-af96-f0df8741402a 2009-09-24T12:18:00-04:00

The first thing you should know is that I used to suffer from a snake phobia. The operative word there is phobia. It wasn’t just a matter of disliking snakes. It wasn’t a fear of being bitten. It wasn’t a simple reluctance to touch their impossibly dry, nimble bodies.

urn:uuid:5c674f44-4c4e-409e-95fe-01a85dfd9c15 2009-09-17T09:25:00-04:00

In my experience as a three-time parent, there is something absolutely, spiritually magical about the first time your child cracks a joke.

urn:uuid:ea0d06e4-1363-4200-bea6-2148ae5fc9df 2009-09-10T10:34:00-04:00

There are two children in my house who bear a striking resemblance to my daughters. They are adorable, smart and energetic.

urn:uuid:3209457f-4f5e-4762-97a6-d2561c63c6e8 2009-09-03T09:49:00-04:00

Signs of harvest are all around. The afternoon sun glows amber over the fields and the farm stands are filled to overflowing with vegetables and fruit. We’re lucky to live in a place where we can have such an immediate connection to the food we eat.