Write Away

I recently heard a friend talking about how much she loved a picture she saw of herself; in it, she was in the middle of teaching a preschool soccer class, and was wearing her 1 year old child in a carrier while he nursed. In one hand she had a soccer ball and was instructing a second child in soccer technique, and in the other hand, she held a snack she was feeding to yet a third child. She was also standing on one foot while she was pantomiming kicking the ball. Her impression of that photo of herself was that that was exactly the kind of mom she always hoped to be. The mom who could do it all, and all at the same time. I reflected on her exultations over the achievement of this candid moment in her life and realized it made me sad...if her goal for that kind of moment meant that there are no moments in her life like this: Or this: Or even this:  Most people probably don't perceive the fastidiousness with which I would prefer to run my household...i...

She had to be at least fifty. Her green silk nightgown caught the light as she shuffled between the two lines of cars stopped at the traffic light. She leaned to one side as she walked; maybe because she was still slightly drugged; maybe to say, "I'm so tired, please help me"; maybe to look vulnerable.  Her emaciated body looked more like that of a young teenage girl's, though her face belied the lines of the long years of a very difficult life. Her pixie-short bottle blond hair was dirty, stiff, and lifeless in the breeze. Her nightgown's shoulder straps had fallen off her shoulders, and whether in unconsciousness or by design she left them where they fell. As she walked she cradled a large 7-Eleven cup against her shoulder, as one would cradle a baby, her cheek resting on the rim. She briefly met the eyes of each driver as she made her way down the lane, hesitatingly, not sure if she would meet judgement or interest. One driver rolled down a window to drop some ...

My husband and I recently saw the new Aladdin movie. The original was one of my favorite movies as a child, so I was very excited to see the live-action version. And the large-scale spectacle was as entertaining as it was nostalgic, with it's "forty fakirs, his cooks, his bakers and birds that warble on key". I loved the high quality dancing and singing. The actors were wonderful, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the song 'Prince Ali', with it's enormous cast and modern take on the beats. Shortly afterward, we went to a family reunion where we all compared notes on the new Aladdin movie- and without exception we all loved it! I began to be concerned however about the messages that the new Jasmine sends, particularly with her new song titled, 'Speechless', in which Jasmine sings in her mind of what she would do if she had her way, and in the process literally INCINERATES people left and right. It's so intense, especially for young gir...