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Overalls
I finally bought my kid some overalls last week. It was time. And not because it was Halloween, although that was her excuse – this time. Sophie’s been asking for overalls for years, and for years...
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There’s No Such Thing as a Christmas Brisket
Editor’s Note: I read this essay at the December 20, 2o18 Bar Flies at The Van Buren in Phoenix. The theme: Eating Christmas. So, here’s the thing no one really ever tells you about Christmas. It gets...
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A Letter to Dax Shepard: Advocate Is My New Favorite Curse Word
Dear Dax: More than anything, this is a piece of fan mail. I hope you consider it as such. I know it probably won’t make its way to you, but social media is so weird and connective that I guess...
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Lunch Box Excavation
Packing lunches this morning, I dumped the contents of Sophie’s bag onto the kitchen table — the only good and fast way to get rid of the loose goldfish crackers roaming around in there. As usual,...
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Sixteen Candles for Sophie
Fifty people packed into my kitchen, drinks in hand, ready for cake. I glanced around and realized I hadn’t seen the guest of honor for at least half an hour. The back door opened and someone called,...
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Advice for the Graduate
Dear Annabelle, Today you graduate from high school. You were born such an old soul, so to me, these rituals feel a little funny. And a little sad, because this means you will “leave leave” soon, as...
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“Forever Intertwined”
Today we have a guest post from one of my favorite writing students, Anita Whitely. For her final project in “Mapping Your Memoir,” a class I teach at Phoenix College, Anita wrote a letter. I won’t...
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Retail Therapy
If you ask the thermometer on my car dashboard, summer is in full swing. But Sophie goes back to school next week so we’ve been washing backpacks, shopping for highlighters and generally returning to...
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Holiday Letter
Greetings friends and family! I’m getting this one in just under the wire, as 2019 slows to a halt. It’s extra chilly here in the Arizona desert, and we are enjoying rare views of snow on far away...
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The Law of Words
I’m proud of my girls every day — that should go without saying — but Sophie really blew me away this weekend with her performance at Shoo Flies. Shoo Flies is the little sister of Bar Flies, a live...
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Dance with Sophie!
Desperate times mean it’s time to dance — at least, that’s how it’s been in our house this spring. Sophie’s working toward her goal of becoming a dance teacher by offering her first-ever dance class!...
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Growing Up
Facebook memories, you’re killing me. I brace myself each morning, reminded of how it feels on the rare occasions I leave the house, driving past coffee shops, boutiques and other favorite...
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Happy Birthday Dear Sophie! Time to Raise the World.
Dear Sophie, I’m sitting at the kitchen table on the day before your 18th birthday. No one else is home. The dogs are asleep, the cat’s outside and I can hear myself think – not necessarily a good...
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Lemon Season
I’m really not one for physical pain, but there’s something almost satisfying about the sting of lemon juice on my fingers, a reminder that I really need to leave my cuticles alone. I’ve...
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Roots
The other day, I was passing through Annabelle’s bedroom when a painting taped to the wall caught my eye. It’s a watercolor, one of dozens posted all over the walls and doors of the tiny room, mixed...
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Queen of the Prom
“Well, genetics strike again,” I told Ray yesterday morning as I stepped over a hefty percentage of my shoe collection, finding the one empty square foot of floorspace in our tiny, cluttered bedroom....
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