Best Buys
“Sometimes a man gets a hankering,” my husband Patrick said last week, “a hankering for food of a color rarely found in nature, a hunger for crunchy snacks that leave greasy, gritty residue along your …
“Maybe I should just shave my head like that Sinéad woman did,” complained Aunt Azelda, dropping a rare pop-culture reference. Azelda was staring at her reflection in the vanity mirror, lamenting time’s gradual ruination of …
Halloween-costume planning around here starts before the previous Halloween’s candy has been eaten. Detailed conversations, elaborate sketches, and shopping lists are tossed about among the kids in preparation for the next year’s holiday. This past …
It’s been a while since I’ve seen my husband Patrick’s impulsive side. But last week was our anniversary, and he surprised me with a trip to Italy. “Last-minute deal on the package — tremendous bargain,” …
My nephew Tom needs to sweep his woman off her feet. It seems there was a lovers’ quarrel and feelings were hurt. “What about sending her a sky message, you know, one of those banners …
“I thought only new parents looked like that,” I said to my friend Cherie, worrying over her glazed eyes and exhausted stare. “It’s been like this for months. I’ll wake up after two hours of …
The kids rolled and patted. Celia sautéed onions and ground beef. I watched and learned. We were having an Argentinean day in our home. Hot empanadas were to be served for dinner. My friend Celia …
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” grumbled my nephew Walt over the phone last week. Two years out of college with a tech job, Walt had just seen his first major project …
At the family reunion swim party last week, there was an accident. Cousin Hugh jumped off the diving board into the water, and on his return to the surface another cousin dove headfirst on top …
'Porta-potties?" asked Patrick, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "You're going to write about porta-potties? Just tell me you aren't going to open with a story about what Uncle Harold did to our downstairs bathroom at last …
Restlessness grows daily in the Kelly home. Midsummer boredom is percolating in my kids and threatening to boil over. Some new hobbies are needed. Pal Bernice suggested square dancing. “We danced a lot of summer …
‘It’s like my body flipped a switch and started storing fat,” lamented my husband Patrick as he stood in front of the mirror. “Ever since I turned 35, the battle of the bulge has turned …
I’ve fought a decade-long battle to keep hairbrushes in the Kelly home. I’ll snatch a few into custody at the store, but once home, they go underground, never to be found again. The time has …
“If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.” — Emil Zatopek Hubby Patrick is heading down the road to experiencing a different life as …
I treasure the stability of my childhood years, but my clearest memories are of the breaks from routine — family vacations, the time Dad let us go to a midnight movie opening on a school …