Becoming my grandmother
It’s often said that women become their mothers. Ever since my mother died twelve years ago, I’ve noticed how I’ve [...]
Summer of love
Since the start of the pandemic, an Italian phrase has been on my mind: abbiamo soltanto gli uni e gli [...]
Christmas in exile
One year, I got a Snicker’s bar for Christmas. I’m sure my mother gave me other gifts, as did my [...]
COVID of the mind
The 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” plays out in my home state of Iowa and at the time gave the [...]
Bugs, butterflies, and wisdom
In the past month, I’ve encountered two big roaches in my car. A while ago, I wrote about my fear [...]
La mangione
Not so long ago I was feeding my daughter Julia bites of sweet potato fries at dinner. Suddenly, though, she [...]
In a breath
I've returned to meditating lately. What's a bit different this time around is that I'm now doing it daily. I'd [...]
In Other Words
I resisted reading this book when it was first released to much fanfare in 2016. The idea of an established [...]
Tell it slant
Last week, I took my two-year-old daughter Julia to her first dental appointment. We’ve been brushing her teeth now for [...]
Once upon a time…
Several weeks ago, after my evening shower, I came back to the bedroom to find my phone submerged in a [...]
Homage to Harjo
I had the privilege of hearing U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo speak and read her poems in January, and that [...]
Seventeen, and other perils
In Italy, writes columnist Kristine Crane, the number 17 invites bad tidings, a nefarious twist on what the Roman lettering XVII can be rearranged to mean.