Blue
The door to our balcony is locked from the outside because the exterior of our building is being renovated. And while I’ve been a little peeved to be missing out on the gorgeous views that prompted us to buy our condo, today I didn’t mind being confined. The blue hue cast into our living space…
10
This week marks a decade since we boarded a nighttime flight in our home country and landed as expats as the sun rose in another. “How time flies,” one might say! To which I would reply, “Hang on, not so fast.” Four moves. Seven graduation ceremonies (eight before this year is over). Countless travels. Two…
Our Nest is Back to Empty. Here’s What It’s Really Like.
It’s been a few days since the kids left. John and I are back to empty nester life. It was just as odd going to the store this afternoon and only picking up a single bag of salad greens as it was two weeks ago when I remembered that three bags barely cover dinner when…
Tortuga
When I made the late-night post on social media, I assumed that a few people might see it, find it amusing, and then move on. I thought about, and even started a few updates over the past few months, but each time I began writing, I kept thinking “who cares?” and dumped the details. Well,…
Next
Caught in this candid moment, not long after the catamaran that had waited for two years to sail our family around the islands for a week left the port of Athens, I can still vividly feel all of the emotions churning underneath what appeared as an otherwise placid pose. The deep sadness, the gratitude, the…
Me, Myself, and I
John is in the city for a few hours, Holly is away until tomorrow, and I’m home getting chores chored. A few minutes ago as I was scouring a toilet, I found myself inadvertently reciting a poem to the beat of the brush scrubs: “I had a little tea party, this afternoon at three.’Twas very…
Ain’t It Grand
I was on track to knocking out my list with my usual, surgical precision. Get in, get out is my motto when it comes to grocery shopping. All I had left to do was grab some broccoli, pay, and be on my merry way. I speed-walked to the produce aisle, gloating at my expert ability…
Triceratops
We had clearly exhausted all topics of conversation sitting around the dinner table in lockdown last August. Six months of quarantine togetherness can do that to a family, no matter how much its members love to banter. Nobody could stand another word about pandemics or politics. There were no sports to speak of. With endless…
Like, Not Even a Little
The medical report began as follows: Hillary had an ultrasound scan today which confirmed…that the uterus is very normal. The ovaries show no evidence of activity at all and I suspect that Hillary is quite close to her last period… I shoved my laptop under my arm and ran to tell John. My eyes filled…
Who’s Your Crew?
By the time the ball sank into the hole at the “sudden death” shootout, I couldn’t have cared less who walked off of the golf course wearing that dang green blazer. If you’re ever lucky enough to be invited to The Masters Tournament, as my husband and I were in 2005, I’ll give you a…
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The Empty Next 