This one’s for Jim. The idea that it has been a whole quarter of a century since we got married in that dusty little office of Norfolk, Virginia’s Justice of the Peace is something I am having trouble absorbing. While clearly it makes sense that twenty five years have passed–what with having lived in six homes in three cities, having raised two nearly-grown boys, and seeing just a *hint* of gray hair on both of our heads–at the same time it feels like I have just blinked a couple of times and, well, here we are. When we got married, I had just turned eighteen and you were almost twenty.…
-
-
Listen To Me: I Have An Announcement! (Then, Listen To Your Mother!)
I am beyond excited to FINALLY be able to talk about this online, after six days of knowing about it. Six days that seem like six years, that is! I, along with my friend Tracey of Just Another Mommy Blog, will be bringing the “Listen To Your Mother” show to Chicago in 2012! What IS the “Listen To Your Mother” show, you ask? It’s a showcase of local writers who read, for a live audience, one “performance” only, their words about motherhood. The first show, in Madison, Wisconsin on Mother’s Day in 2010 was conceived (get it?) and produced by Ann Imig, who is now the National Director. This year,…
-
Confirmation That I Should Totally Become A Famous Actress
I sent the link to my post about how I died at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Saturday to Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair (Joe is the co-star and both are responsible for the book, lyrics, and music for “Murder For Two: A Killer Musical”), and I just got this reply: Hi there Melisa, Thank you so much for the kind words… and for being a willing participant in the action! Congrats on a great performance.
be well, Joe (& Kellen) I need an agent. Want to make this a long-term commitment? I might become a famous actress and win an Oscar someday. Please subscribe to my feed by… -
I Died At The Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Seriously.
I had a fantastic birthday weekend. Jim whisked me away to the city for a show and an overnight stay. When we came home, my sister presented me with the best birthday cake EVER, which you need to check out before you go any further because ohmygodyoujusthavetoseeit. Click here, and then come back. I’ll wait. I bet you’re wondering about the title of this post. Believe it or not, it’s totally true! How many people can say they made their stage debut dying at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, especially if they have never had any desire whatsoever to be on stage at all? (Good question, right? I’ll Google it later.)…
-
Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go: Now Available in STORES!
Blurred reality. I was just informed that Barnes & Noble is placing an order for my book, Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go: Nearly 200 Ways To Enjoy Chicagoland With Tweens and Teens and should have it on the shelves by the December holidays. This was one of my main goals for the book: to get it into a major bookseller’s stores. CHECK! So there you go. Though the order they are placing is not big enough to get copies into every store (Yet. Let’s stay positive, shall we?), you CAN go into your local B&N, no matter where it is, and special order a copy for…
-
Metamorphosis
Ahh, teenagers. It’s tough, you know, trying to parent young people who are caught in the middle of childhood and adulthood. The physical, emotional, and behavioral changes brought on by the stages of puberty can be enough to drive an entire family insane, and it can be a dark time, my friends. Even if your teen is relatively well-behaved in the grand scheme of things (as mine are), puberty can be ugly. As they grow older, teenagers push back against “the system” in their fight to be more independent while still being taken care of within the family unit. They want to make their own decisions, and it’s a struggle…
- Amazing People, Chicken in the Car, Fun in Chicago, Proud Moments, Something That Could Change Your Life, Travels
Make No Little Plans.
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.” ~Daniel Burnham, American architect and urban planner, 1846-1912 How much do you know about your hometown? Could you tell somebody about its history? Do you take advantage of what it has to offer in the way of entertainment, architecture, parks, and all of the other good stuff? Do you feel comfortable exploring the entire area, as opposed to staying in the cocoon of your neighborhood? Do you know anything about the…
-
Transitions, Part Two
Yesterday I wrote about D’s return to college, and how different it feels this year compared to last. There are some changes where J is concerned, too. He has just begun his junior year in high school, which is really hard to believe in itself, so let’s all just pause for a moment to think about that. *pause* At the beginning of June, J got his first real job, working for an internet-based company. The owners of the company, a husband and wife, are members at our temple and gave him a chance for the summer, even though they were initially looking for a college student. J jumped right in…
- I've Got Mad Skillz, Jim Has Mad Skillz, My Kid Has Mad Skillz, Proud Moments, Random Thoughts, Reflections on Parenting
Transitions, Part One
Ahh, life. We’re going through all kinds of changes in this house right now. I’m not typically a fan of changes, but I’m learning to roll with them as they come up. The biggest thing happening this week is D’s imminent departure. He’s going back to college on Monday, to begin his sophomore year. When I think about how worried and emotional I was last year, right before he left us for the first time, I smile a little bit. I wish I had known back then, just one tiny little year ago, that even though things were changing, they were staying the same in so many ways. He had…
-
Zeus and the Hanger
Time flies. It flies so quickly that I just realized I never wrote about the acquisition of J’s first car, six weeks ago. SIX WEEKS AGO. That’s like, four years in blog time. I won’t go into all of the details of the search except to say that J was delightfully open to “almost any car that runs”. This attitude was in massive contrast to his brother’s: when D was looking for his first car, he had things narrowed down to what was nearly impossible to find. Oh, he found it alright, but the annoyance level of everything having to do with that car hunt was high. This house was…