Category Archives: friends

At the berwyn sears

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

One of the first tests of my teenage life was acquiring tickets to the Bruce Springsteen concert.  My friends, KDM and KAW, and I camped out overnight at the Sears in Berwyn (the one with the garbage statue and the … Continue reading →

Posted in experience, friends, friendship, lessons, motherhood, nostalgia, sisters, teen stress | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

When inspiration fails

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Ironically, my good friend, fellow blogger, and novelist, Deb Hanrahan, bestowed upon me a Liebster Award. I hardly deserve such awards, especially since I have been so uninspired that I’ve written not a single word since early September. Perhaps this … Continue reading →

Posted in coaching, community, connection, experience, food, friends, friendship, lessons, unexpected gifts, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Five on friday

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I wrote this post on Friday, but here it is Sunday and I still haven’t posted it. Okay, so a couple of weeks are in the books for school.  We made it through two Open House nights, one night of … Continue reading →

Posted in autumn, education, family, food, friends, motherhood, paris, stories, teaching | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Beer-vana: Greenbush Brewery, Michigan

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I’ve written about some of Michigan’s finest offerings, from blueberries to bike routes, from great small towns, to lakeshore college towns, and even to historic beaches with a bit of controversy, but one of Michigan’s best products or places has … Continue reading →

Posted in beer, endless summer, family, friends | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dear diary: confessions of an Eighties teenager

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

My high school best friend just discovered she kept a diary during two years of our high school time. My friend’s mom found the diary in her attic recently. We had dinner the other night and she pulled out the … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, experience, friends, growth, lessons, memory, nostalgia, stories, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Tet party in five acts

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Act One: It’s 10:00 am in an apartment on the Southside of Chicago.  A family of four, mom, dad, two adopted Vietnamese four-year olds, prepares for a houseful of guests who want to celebrate Tet with them. The house has … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, community, connection, food, friends, holidays, memory, motherhood, Tet, tradition, transformation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Mean girls

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Because I visit Monkey Man and Gorilla Girl so frequently in their classroom, the other kids are starting to pay more attention to me.  They wanted to know my name, and as I explained in a previous post, I allowed … Continue reading →

Posted in education, friends, gender, identity, motherhood, names, scars, teaching | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Pinball wizard

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

“There is never enough time for writing; it is a parallel universe where the days, inconveniently, are also 24 hours long. Every moment spent in one’s real life is a moment missed in one’s writing life, and vice versa.” –Gish … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, friends, growth, writing | 1 Comment

On the road again

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

This weekend, I drove for miles, most of it through central Illinois. Maybe because I was driving Gorilla Girl and Monkey Man who were snoozing on and off, and maybe because I was listening to favorite old songs on my … Continue reading →

Posted in coaching, friends, growth, identity, inspiration, motherhood, transformation, travel | 2 Comments

Out of the mouths of babes: gender divide

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Gorilla Girl and Monkey Man are taking a bath – I can hear them on the baby monitor from downstairs. As I write, I think of the little things they say that make me laugh. Or cringe. Today, during our … Continue reading →

Posted in beer, expectations, friends, gender, motherhood | 2 Comments