“Do you think your Mom will come back as a ghost and haunt you?” My son was 7. His Mom had died a few months earlier. He wore a Darth Vader costume to the funeral and carried a lightsaber. His friend, in the back seat of our car on the…

Kids or not, the term ‘solitary vacation’ needs to take a solitary vacation — I can’t remember the last time I smiled so much. After sixteen months of isolation, my family hung out with a group of other humans again. But getting to see my friends was only part of what made me so happy. In-between multiple rounds of ribs and kids breaking water…

The grandchildren promised they’d help — guess how that worked out? As a Baby Boomer closing in on 65, I know how lucky I am to still have both my parents. They’re doing well physically and made it through the pandemic just fine. My sister and I live close by…

“I never knew that you enjoy writing.” My mother keeps telling me this for the last 4–5 years every time I mention that I write any content. It could have been explained that she did not if we haven’t had such a close relationship that we actually have. …

Belt out “Baby Shark.” It’s a natural parent repellent. — Stare. Stare at them for so long. Stare at them for so long they squirm. Stare at them for so long they leave. Follow them home, break in, when they wake up perspiring, continue staring. As they flee, screaming, stepping on a stray Lego, only to now lie incapacitated with…