A n n a r c h y

A n n a r c h y header image

Parent Bingo

November 22nd, 2009 · Comments

My 17-year-old will be in college next year, and right now he and I are deep in the process of applications and school visits and talks that spring up suddenly at dinner or in the car and begin with, “Maybe I should think about…?” or “Have you considered…?” It’s a process that feels very much [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Children · Parenting · Teenagers · writing

At a Loss for Words

June 27th, 2009 · Comments

On Thursday, my son finished up his junior year of high school, and today his dad, little sister and I drove him 75 miles to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he’ll spend the next 6 weeks immersed in Art. He’ll spend much of that time muddying his clothes in the ceramics studio, [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Children · Parenting · Teenagers

Excerpt: Things That Scare Me

April 19th, 2009 · Comments

I’ve been thinking about Things That Scare Me for a while, and when I wrote it, it turned out much longer than a blog post. So here’s an excerpt, including photos of the video shoot in Steve Garfield’s dining room cum video studio.
A few weeks ago, I had to film a video greeting that would [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Business · Video · writing

Evergreen Christmas

December 24th, 2008 · Comments

1970
It’s four days before Christmas, and my father finally retrieves from beneath the cellar stairs the huge Sears box that houses our Christmas tree. The tree is heavy, its metal trunk solid and plumed with thick branches trimmed with rough-cut green cellophane that simulates pine needles.
It’s the only Christmas tree I’ve ever known, and when [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Children · Family History

Birthday Boy

October 4th, 2008 · Comments

Thirteen years ago today, we threw a first birthday party for our blond, apple-cheeked boy. Three months later to the day, he would be dead, from a virulent and rare form of strep. One day he was sitting in my lap with a book, clapping his hands when we came to his favorite page, and [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Children · Family History · Parenting · writing

Notice to Staff and Stakeholders: Reorg

September 18th, 2008 · Comments

Greetings all staff and stakeholders of Coddled Teenage Boy Enterprises:
It has come to my attention that there has been some confusion about your roles and responsibilities within the organization, which has led to infighting, yelling, and name-calling—this happened just yesterday, prior to 7 AM. Such behavior is both unprofessional and upsetting, and it is my [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Children · Humor · Parenting · Teenagers