My dad called me at work one morning this week just to tell me that he was okay.  I think this was a preemptive attack.   I think he really wanted to say “I know you are going to call me several times today to check and see how I am, and I want to tell you I am fine so you won’t bother me anymore today.  I will call you again tomorrow morning to tell you the same, and will continue this every day until you lose interest and stop …

Last week, Janie’s grandmother died.  It wasn’t altogether unexpected, but really sad nonetheless.  Janie was her only grandchild and they shared a very special bond.  In the last years, as her memory steadily declined, she moved to a beautiful home in Oregon where she was cared for around the clock by a family.  Janie and her parents drove down for a visit this summer, a visit that would be their last chance to hold her and kiss her and tell her how much she was loved and missed.
She was 92 …

Janie and I have been spending the last 6 years debating what our kids’ names will be and whether or not we will change our last names in some fashion to seal the family deal. Will she take my last name? Will I take hers (no – YAWN – boring!)? Will we pick a new one? She rejected my suggestion of the last name Mansfield (after my favorite short story author, Katherine) because apparently there’s something weird about having the same name as a dead celebrity. …

This will be short because my parents are shy and they don’t like the idea that I might write about them on the Internet, spilling our family secrets, like that recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. It’s hard for me not to share something about them here, considering they are such a huge part of who I am and what I hold dear. So here we are, meeting my parents.
My parents have been married for over 40 years, which is remarkable in this day and age. I feel …

Janie and I just spent a long weekend relaxing on our couch. On Monday, the only reason we had for getting up was to go to the bathroom. This is what a long Labor Day weekend should be, people. Sitting on your couch, watching that Tori Spelling reality show marathon. I totally cried when her dog, Mimi La Rue, died. I’ll be honest, I find this show and Tori Spelling to be sweet and genuine. I feel like they’re a normal couple with an …