SOMETIMES THE NEWS is simply too stupid to be ignored. Don’t agree? Did you read what the writer V.S. Naipual said recently about women writers? No? You should. [click to continue…]
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MAKING A LIST. That’s my duty, according to Sheilaa, everyone’s favorite astrologer. And it’s advice I’m comfortable with, since I love making lists. What does Sheilaa have in store for you? Are you brave enough to look? [click to continue…]
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Me, on the swim team, before I knew the 15 Rules.
ASKING FOR HELP. Oh, was that a shudder I saw go down your spine? What is it about asking for help that sets women on edge? No, I’m not talking about calling a babysitter. I’m talking about asking for real help, reaching out and saying “I’m not sure what to do,” or “I’m not good at this at all,” or “This makes me shake.” Maybe you are an exception to this, but I only recently came to extol the virtues of the skill of asking for help. And now I think I’ll plant a “Help Wanted” sign on my lawn. And why not? [click to continue…]
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GO ASK ALICE. That single lyric sent me down and through the rabbit hole the other day as I was cruising around with my new Sirius/XM car radio. Well, there was a car attached, though to me the vehicle was but a large sound system in which I was happily ensconced, a magic carpet ride back to the days when I sang in rock bands. Now there is a sentence to curls the hair of one’s child, yes? I sang in rock bands, and with the help of my new car’s radio, I’m back belting out the songs I covered, re-upping my love for the playlist of my life. Have you got one? I suspect you do. [click to continue…]
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Me, on the swim team, before I knew the 15 Rules.
PAIGE DID IT. She broke the rules. She knew she was doing it as she did it, and she did it anyway. We were in a Skype call when she did it, and we sighed the collective sigh of the TSP sisterhood when she did, since we’ve all done the same thing, broken the same rule, and will do it again, probably as soon as today. Is this the one you break most, as well? [click to continue…]
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LOSING A SISTER. The mere phrase makes me bow my head and mumble words of desperate hope to never confront such a tragedy. And yet, of course, we’ve all lost sisters, whether biological or befriended, and the chill of it stays with us forever. News came last week of the loss of a friend, the loss to all who knew her of a fine, brave woman, mother and sister. Lost to breast cancer. We are bereft, and reach out as we can to sisters everywhere to bang your drums, or shake your fists, pray, mourn, remember, or do what it is you do when another fine woman is taken by this – or any – dreadful disease. [click to continue…]
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Me, on the swim team, before I knew the 15 Rules.
I BROKE THE RULES. In my defense, I must say that I did not break all of them–just one, though it was the most important of them all. Driving the car, there I was screaming at myself for having forgotten something, asking myself how I could ever be so stupid. And then I remembered: No sister would let me do that. Would you?
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THE TRUTH ISN’T ALWAYS FUNNY. If you want a funny list, we’ve got it. But not here. This time I’m taking on the single, galvanizing not-funny aspect of the sisterhood. And just what is that? Time. How we manage time.
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Me, on the swim team, before I knew the 15 Rules.
WHY WOULD I BE ASKED TO SPEAK at a school commencement, my daughter wanted to know? I am no one’s idea of a traditional role model. But I’ve been able to chart my life to do what I love, so my speech turned out to be a list of rules to help the girls do just that. 15 Rules for Living, from overseas travel to a certain pair of red shoes: [click to continue…]
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A SISTER-FRIEND FROM OUR extended network, writer and yoga instructor Joely Johnson Mork, sent us the following piece back in December, during which time all of us were otherwise engaged making other kinds of lists. But I keep thinking of Joely’s offering, and wanted to share it. One week after a loss she was certain she would never write about, the death of her best friend, I asked Joely, a former student in my memoir-writing class, if she thought she could simply bring in a list of thoughts related to the event. She actually she wrote a series of three lists, about her last visit with Mary. I offer them here, in another busy time of year, to again help us take stock of what we value. [click to continue…]
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First time here? Here's the idea: 
