Invincible Summer

 Welcome to the world little book!! With great big gratitude to Beatrix, for the perpetual inspiration of rants and reflections, and Nathan Grover, for the gorgeous book design and helping make sure I got this book into the world.  A portion of the proceeds go to support Voices of Children , an NGO providing psychological help and art therapy to children affected by war in Ukraine.  Link to purchase HERE! bonus squeeze from Beatrix

My launch of The ABC's of Pandemic Parenting has taken a necessary pause as I regather myself after my dad died from complications related to his Alzheimer's in late March. Quite frankly, my brain just didn't work in a way I could trust to be able to see to the details needed to launch. The pause has been restorative (and I suspect will be followed by still more, though hopefully shorter, pauses, because: grief). So I'm excited to announce an actual Let's Do This date:                                          Wednesday, May 18th 2022! Yes, next week. My journey of self-publishing this collection of mini-memoir has been a pleasurable one, and I think a lot of that has to do with working with my coach (I'm currently working on a coaching certification and a gift of that is working with other talented coaches in training) to be clear on what my purpose is in sharing this writing. Keeping those goals as a north star has helped me push through my many layers of resis

Today marks the TWO YEAR anniversary of pandemic lockdown in San Francisco. I'm celebrating with a cover reveal! My friend Nathan Grover designed this cover and it makes me seven forms of happy. But I think my favorite part is the hint of Covid lurking in the background. It's part benign presence, part scary unknown force. Which is a pretty great way to sum up life with a pandemic.

Another excerpt from my soon-to-launch collection of mini-memoir, The ABC's of Pandemic Parenting : The eagle is the symbol of the Unites States Postal Service. It is emblazoned along the side of each mail carrier’s truck. When my father returned from military service first in Germany he floundered for his next role. When we landed in California, the land of his and her families, he found himself a job as a postal carrier. Highlights of that job were the cookies left for him at Christmastime. The Halloween my brother dressed up as a postal carrier, wearing my dad’s oversized uniform, we got to trick or treat along his route. I, always less clever, insisted on being a princess and in turn got way less gushing notes of adoration from the route’s inhabitants.  My father’s departure from the postal service upheaved my childhood townlife to Southern California where he entered seminary to train as an American Baptist pastor. Each church he served had flags inside the building, adorned w

Another excerpt from The ABCs of Pandemic Parenting , out soon. Bird is a bit of a cheat, now isn’t Eric Carle? And the world thereof? Because later you’ll be more specific about types of birds, when you begin encountering the more difficult letters.  The birds of Golden Gate Park seem to be having a glorious epidemic. Even before the virus there were coyotes. The coyotes infringed on the local feral cat population (infringed is a kind way of saying they ate them). The feral cat population was infringing on the local bird population. But now that the coyotes are widespread through the park the birds are having a renaissance.  During the pandemic I’ve been in the park almost daily and often twice daily. To walk the then-baby, now-toddler. To walk myself into any sort of calm. To run the trails that criss-cross. To write at a picnic table under a tree until all the picnic tables were moved from that field because the coyote pups were close and the coyote mommas were threatened. To lay on

My daughter has just recently reached the age of fascination with ants. Or I should say the beginning of that stage, as I know it could last a lifetime. We live in San Francisco where the ants are tiny and infrequent except for the occasional breach during a rainy bout. They are nothing like the ants of my childhood, angry fat, biting creatures that my body seemed to find everywhere out in the world. San Francisco ants are very civil. Perhaps that’s why my first lesson to her about ants found out in the world is to leave them be. Watch with fascination yes, but don’t ever give in to the inborn temptation to squish them under the pad of your finger that is perfectly ant-sized.  From the ABC's of Pandemic Parenting : Ants makes me think of antsy, as in to be antsy. Which may come from ants (as in the dance of terror performed when ants climb aboard you) or more likely is from anticipate. I am hard-wired for anticipation. It makes me a great employee (except to the people who hate hea