SubscribeSeptember 2011
Giving my daughter special driving lessons (0)
9/27/11 •
My daughter is talking more about learning to drive, and I’m getting more nervous just thinking about it. Friends with older children tell me this is probably the scariest aspect of parenthood– watching your teenage child drive off in a car, alone. My 16-year-old is signing up for driver’s education classes set to begin in [...]
Celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial (0)
9/07/11 •
I think that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be embarrassed by the new monument that just opened in his honor on the Washington Mall, not because it doesn’t have a noble intent, but it is far more showy than the man himself. But I think he would be honored by this national memorial [...]
August 2011
Black and white women talk about “The Help” (1)
8/17/11 •
Nearly 300 black and white women here in Charlotte gathered last Saturday morning to talk openly about racial relationships, using the movie “The Help” as a catalyst for conversations that most of them had never had with each other. As the women gathered around tables to begin the discussion, the moderator asked the black women, [...]
Appreciation for women who worked as “The Help” (0)
8/09/11 •
I invited my mother to go with me to see the movie, “The Help,” thinking it would be a chance for us to talk about a part of her life that she never shared much with my sisters and me when we were growing up. She refused. “I’m not going to watch black people being [...]
July 2011
Steadying myself and praying for my mother’s health (0)
7/29/11 •
My mother had a medical emergency a few days ago, and for a little while my sisters and I were thrown into a surreal place that I don’t want to return to anytime soon. My youngest sister was with my 80-year-old mother and called the rest of us after dialing 911. All four of us [...]
A memorable 40th high school reunion (0)
7/20/11 •
I grew up being called by both my first and middle names, a part of Southern culture that has faded over the past few decades. I usually only hear myself called by both names when I visit my family. But I was called by my double name so often during a 40th high school reunion [...]
Attending a 40th high school reunion (0)
7/15/11 •
I’m going to a 40th high school reunion soon but it won’t be a gathering of Baby Boomers that I joined in the symbolic walk across a stage to get a diploma. Instead, these will be people that I grew up with, who are an important part of my childhood memories. It is the reunion [...]
Straightening my mother’s hair (0)
7/06/11 •
I almost couldn’t stop laughing a couple weeks ago when my 80-year-old mother, recuperating at home after knee replacement surgery, asked me to straighten her hair. At first, I thought she was joking, but then she told me it would be too painful for her to go to her beautician. She ignored my protests that [...]
June 2011
Hugs and kisses for my mother (0)
6/22/11 •
My mother is finally at home, after a second knee replacement surgery and a few weeks in a rehabilitation center. We’re all relieved. Things didn’t go as well as hoped after the surgery and my 80-year-old mother had a few complications in the hospital. My sisters and I were anxious but we did our best [...]
A teaching moment about sexting (0)
6/09/11 •
A group of girls at my daughter’s high school were caught recently during lunch break huddled around a smart phone looking at a picture of a naked boy. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) is in the midst of a sexting scandal after accidentally sending a lewd image via Twitter to a college student. This week, he [...]
Gardening magic (0)
6/02/11 •
One of my neighbors is as excited about my growing tomato plants as I am. She strolls by the plot regularly, as I do, and gives me progress reports that I don’t need. I shared my bounty of tomatoes with her last summer and we’re both eager to start eating them again. I ate tomatoes [...]
May 2011
Melting the middle, at last (2)
5/25/11 •
Six months ago, Nzinga, Patrice and I came together to offer each other encouragement and support on a journey to melt the middle. Today, each of us has smaller waistlines, but our greatest accomplishment is that we’ve made significant health-related lifestyle changes. We’re mindful of what we eat and how often we exercise. It is [...]
Farewell, my strictly old school friend (0)
5/19/11 •
My “brother” died a few days ago, at least that ‘s what he is in my heart. Richard Gregory “Greg” Lewis and I met more than 30 years ago when we were hired for our first newspaper jobs in North Carolina. We were young, idealistic and eager to become full-fledged journalists. But those early years [...]
Teaching my daughter about the Freedom Riders (0)
5/10/11 •
Many people in the church sanctuary sat with hands covering their mouths, trying to contain their emotions as we watched a preview of a PBS film being released on the 50th anniversary of the “Freedom Riders.” Angry white men tossed firebombs through the window of a bus in Birmingham as 13 riders sat in fear of [...]
Applauding my mother’s reservoir of determination (1)
5/03/11 •
My mother got the news a few days ago, but all of us had an idea what it would be: she is going to need a second knee replacement surgery. When she had the first operation last spring, her doctor told all of us that the condition of her knees probably meant another surgery in [...]
April 2011
When nudging our children isn’t enough (1)
4/27/11 •
My daughter is an introvert, and she’s a teenager. That means she easily and quickly dismisses activities that she believes will make her uncomfortable or that she can’t see the benefit in doing. I do a lot of nudging. But when I see that she’s on the verge of giving up a wonderful opportunity, I [...]
Grateful for birthday wishes from my mother (3)
4/20/11 •
When you’re celebrating a 50-something birthday, the best gifts are things that can’t be purchased: good health, strong friendships, a loving family. And, a chat with your mother about your birth. My Mom called me on the evening of my birthday a few days ago, around 8 o’clock. It was near the time I was [...]
Take back the responsibility for educating your child (0)
4/06/11 •
This is the news my daughter learned at school a few weeks ago: the after-school technology club might be ending, classes in technology would be cutback beginning in the fall and her favorite technology teacher might not be returning because of layoffs. I had gone to a meeting earlier that the high school principal set [...]
March 2011
An inspiring speech therapist and friend (0)
3/09/11 •
I’ve stuttered since I started talking, and over the years I’ve worked with a handful of speech therapists to learn how to control the blocked sounds and repetitions that interrupt my conversations. The first were speech therapists who pulled me out of elementary classes several times a week. During college, I worked with a speech [...]
February 2011
An Oscar shout out to stutterers (0)
2/28/11 •
Wow. I could hardly believe it when, while accepting an Oscar for best original screenplay for “The King’s Speech,” David Seidler sent a shout out to stutterers. ”I dedicate this to all stutterers around the world,” he said. “We have a voice. We have been heard.” I felt tingly and started pumping my fist in [...]
I am a member of the Sandwich Generation, a Baby Boomer raising a teenage daughter and dealing with the needs of an aging mother. I am a veteran journalist, having worked for more than three decades as a reporter and editor. Mostly recently, I was an editor with the Metro section of The Washington Post.
