
Grandmothering
Here’s what I did not know over 50 years ago when my firstborn son was placed in my arms. It was not enough to count all his toes and fingers. I did that traditional review with all four of my children when each one was placed in my arms shortly after birth. They all had the requisite small toes and fingers, two eyes, two ears, they all passed the mother-newborn review. What I could not measure was the mental toughness, the emotional strength each child would need to negotiat

A Man from Kearney
I dated a man from Kearney, Nebraska once. I was divorced, restless, and curious. I’d picked up a newspaper at a highway rest stop. It was devoted to helping singles connect. The days of meeting potential dates on the Internet was not yet on the horizon. I rationalized, what harm could there come from writing and mailing a note? Kearney, Nebraska was a long way from Cormorant, Minnesota. It seemed like a risk free adventure. I used all my creative writing skills to arouse cur