Several months back, a loyal Friend, the "building up of others" kind, very lovingly and wisely counseled me to clear the air with another friend. She gently but directly pointed out an infraction - moreover, the kind we all hate - the passive-aggressive kind (ugh) - which I was guilty of towards said other friend. Honestly, my first instinct was to feel defensive. I wanted to explain or justify myself. But I knew Friend's no-nonsense advice was right. Taking her Truth to heart, and recalling my 2015 resolutions (which, ever well-intending but not-so-at-executing, need to be kept more … [Read more...]
Grace and Courage, Courage and Grace
So frustrated. And torn. Haven't been able to write lately because I've been too busy hitting the backspace button. A whole mess of stories centered around relationships and interactions with girlfriends, in-laws, DH and the kids have been started and scrapped. For no matter which way my fingers run on the keyboard, they inevitably hit a cross-road that confronts any writer sharing the more intimate, reflective and normally private parts of his/her life with the world. You see, I want to write about the hardest lessons and most sensitive topics that life's circumstances, choices … [Read more...]
You Only Turn 40 Once….Or Do You?
DH, half-asleep: "Who's calling this early?" Me, also half-asleep: "I dunno. I'll get it.... Hello?" "Say tenkyoo." "Mom?" "Say tenkyoo." "Um, ok, thank you. But why? "It's yo bus-day. You know, i'm da one did all da wuk bringing you into dis wuld, so you should be tenking me dis day ebery year." (Well, ok then.) "Thanks, Mom. Thanks for my birth-day." "You welcome. Happy bus-day, Eh-nee-tah!!" (Really, who wouldn't love this mad woman I call Mom?) My birthday doesn't start this way "ebery" year but still, ebery so often. This year, however, I wasn't home to … [Read more...]
7 Going on 17 – The Kids are Definitely Growing Up Too Fast
There are conversations that, in the deepest recesses of my heart, I'm sort of preparing myself to have with my sweet l'il girl when she's older. And folks, I'm not even talking "the birds and the bees" - a hilarious version of which my immigrant mother thought to try to imbue upon me at AGE 25 (but that's a whole other story to share another time). I'm talking navigating the world of "mean girls" in secondary school, avoiding gossip (or at least trying one's best to), crushes and heartbreaks - that sort of "fun", lighthearted talk. Ugh. Well, recently I got smacked upside the head by … [Read more...]
Top 10 Mortifying Moments – Part 1: Making Friends Anita-Style
A few months back, I took my 9-year-old to a new friend's birthday party at Dave and Busters (a national restaurant/arcade/sports bar chain), where I knew none of the other guests. I was dragging a bit so when Son sat down at the party table, I excused myself and slipped out to grab some coffee at Starbucks next door. Thanks to D&B's "NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINKS" policy, I was detained at the door from reentering until I finished downing my scalding hot coffee. By the time I returned to the party, the kids had already eaten and scrambled out of the dining room into the large arcade area, … [Read more...]