Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: granddaughter
Now I Know
A few years ago, we took our granddaughter camping. It rained all night, thundered with lightening strikes, and in the morning everything was soaked but the day was bright and clear. We went hiking up a trail to a lookout where we could see… Continue Reading “Now I Know”
Reach Back
The grandmother gig can be a tough one. You can be in the presence of a grandchild who clearly needs a mother more than a grandmother and though you know very well how to be a mother, you can’t be that child’s mother. She… Continue Reading “Reach Back”
Playing the Long Game
For all my brave talk, all my “I’m really Stevie Nicks” under these black dress pants and sensible shoes, for all my aging is a joyous, beautiful thing, a lucky thing, priceless if you take it in the right way, all my advice to… Continue Reading “Playing the Long Game”
The Melancholy of Sunday Night
It starts around 5:00. Before that, the day has hope. At 5:00, hope evaporates into little clouds of resignation that then gather and form a storm cloud of dread. It’s as if someone has given me a pill timed to dampen my mood and… Continue Reading “The Melancholy of Sunday Night”
The Unbelievable Reality of the Pit Toilet
The pit toilet saves people the indignity of scrambling through the forest, burrowing into the brush, risking poison ivy of the ass, and the heart-stopping appearance of a woodland creature to do something that ordinarily requires about a 10-second walk down the hall. It’s… Continue Reading “The Unbelievable Reality of the Pit Toilet”
Start Where You Are, Use What You Have: Involving Dads in their Kids’ Lives
This is week 2 of my little campaign to figure out ways to make my son have fun with his daughter. Last week it was sledding. Today, skating. Don’t bother me with “you shouldn’t have to do that.” I shouldn’t. But I do. And I am. So… Continue Reading “Start Where You Are, Use What You Have: Involving Dads in their Kids’ Lives”
A Shadow of My Former Self: How Grandmothers are Different
I’m such a better parent since I stopped raising kids. Seriously. You know how I know this? Here’s my story. It’s Saturday morning. There is a lot to do to get ready for our annual Three Kings celebration – a gathering of families who’ve… Continue Reading “A Shadow of My Former Self: How Grandmothers are Different”
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect.
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect May 27, 2020
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
