Monday was a landmine...er, landmark birthday. I could gnash my teeth and pull out my (camouflaged) hair, but instead, I'll take a look in the rearview mirror and find a way to laugh. Years ago, when my 21-year-old daughters were in kindergarten, they came home and asked how old I was, in response to a …

Continue reading Toolin’ Around in an Oldmobile

I belong to an online socio/political group of 200,000+ women, and Monday morning, a member posted a question her friend had asked: “Please brag to me about a thing you did in 2020 that you’re proud of.” At around 8:30 am, there were under 100 responses. By 10 am, there were over 600. The answers were as diverse …

Continue reading Cheers to 2021: Finding Strength in 2020

On November 20, a gentleman I’ve known for many years who works as an attendant at a parking lot in which I frequently park announced he thought COVID was a hoax. I asked him, “So you think the 373 cases in Monroe County yesterday is a hoax?” “Well, I don’t know any of them.” “Fortunately, …

Continue reading Why I’m Foregoing this Year’s Holiday Luncheon

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling a sense of pressure to create a holiday season that’s more special than usual, because it’s been such a difficult year.I’ve been racking my brain to come up with  ideas to make it fun and memorable, which have been met with varying degrees of (usually lackluster) enthusiasm: …

Continue reading Points of Light

Photo courtesy of IMDb I remember getting a chess set for Christmas when I was about ten years old. I’m not sure how I learned to play, since no one in my family was into chess. I “taught” myself, and then my sister so I had someone to play with. I imagine my playing was pretty …

Continue reading The Queen’s Gambit Is No Gamble