I once heard novelist Zadie Smith describe the several psychological stages an author goes through while writing a novel. Based on my own experience, she was right on about all of them–the self-consciousness bordering on self-hatred when things aren’t going well, and that experience when things are where everything you see, read, or hear, seems…
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Earthquakes, Hurricanes, and Other Acts of God and Man
There’s a Yiddish saying that when man plans, God laughs. Apparently, when I plan, the laughter comes from my infant daughter Amalía, who was due to arrive in this world on August 19th, if not before, my doctors said, judging from her size. When I heard that, I began making plans. And it wasn’t just…
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The Mob and the Blob
It’s been a big week in our house. Not just because we graduated from hypnobirthing, had our infant CPR class and welcomed the first of the three grandmothers flocking like fairy godmothers to Florida to await the birth of the baby Amalía (we’re ready when you are, kid). But also because one of our cable…
Sibling Revelry
Are you ready for Raksha Bandhan? It’s August 13th this year. I know, that’s 10 days away. But if you’re not Hindu, and this is your first Raksha Bandhan, you might need some time to prepare yourself to celebrate. The way I understand it, Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of siblings. It started out a…
Swing High, Fiery Chariot
I hate to miss a good party. Tonight, in Greece, is the eve of the festival of the Prophet Elias, the patron saint of our village, Lia. There will be roast lambs and goats on spits, there will be pitas made by local ladies, there will be clarinets wailing and villagers dancing and various and…
Something Kinda Newish
When I was a young girl, say 11 or so, growing up Greek Orthodox in Worcester, Massachusetts, my friend Maxine taught me a catchy little ditty she learned in Hebrew School. It went a little something like this: Wherever you go, there’s always someone…Jewish You’re never alone when you say you’re a Jew! So…