Invincible Summer

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

One of my 2022 goals is to share my writing. I too often create things, think about sharing them, over-think it, then get shy about it, try to perfect it, get bored with that, feel I can't get it perfect anyway, then move onto something else and think too much time has passed to share that thing from before, and so on. But I am so inspired by those creators out there who share their art, even the imperfect bits! Seeing their work brings me a zing of joy. It encourages me to see the art in my own life. It makes me feel more human, more hopeful, and just more. So, here's to me sharing more.  Over the next few weeks I will be sharing excerpts from The ABC's of Pandemic Parenting . The work as a whole will be available soon. This collection of mini-memoir was written in June, 2021 during a Writer In Residency of my own making, inspired by An Artist Residency in Motherhood . I used my daughter’s Eric Carle ABC book as a jumping off place, curious to see what would emerge from ea