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What is Wild and Unpredictable
This morning, like most mornings since I turned 50 nearly four years ago, I made coffee and stretched and wrote and read a little. Never...
Dec 19, 20243 min read
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Mel's parenting advice regarding activities for children: Cast a wide net
This is a photo of Diego and his pig Loquat he raised at the high school for the fair. We are not ranchers or farmers; no one in our...
Oct 31, 20245 min read
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That Fine Line
Tyring to be not too hard on myself, but man, you'd think that I could be a little smarter. Such a fine line I between just right and too...
Oct 29, 20243 min read
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Surfing Alone
Yesterday I paddled out alone at Sand Spit, a surf break in our region that is decidedly wild. It's in a park called Montana de Oro. The...
Oct 25, 20242 min read
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The Benefits of Sports
I have said before that with my children, I'm glad I cast a wide net of activities at them--that they have dabbled in everything from...
Oct 23, 20243 min read
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Learning to Relax
One of the most challenging aspects of menopause I have experienced is sensitivity to temperature. A few years ago I would notice myself...
Oct 22, 20242 min read
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To My 14-Year-old Self
Today was so beautiful with my son Diego and my spouse, driving up into the mountains toward Mount Baker and then taking a really...
Oct 21, 20241 min read
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May I tell you about today?
Derek and I flew to Seattle last night to come see our little freshman, Diego, at Western Washington University in Bellingham where we...
Oct 20, 20242 min read
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Girl Talk: Ablation, Menopause, Estrogen, and Long Marriage
In my early 40s, I went to my gynecologist and basically asked for a hysterectomy. I had had two babies, my sons, and did not want more...
Oct 17, 20244 min read
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Bridge over troubled waters
Is self-doubt one word or two? What about self-loathing? Two words or one? Today was rough. The details don't matter. I am not a unique...
Oct 16, 20242 min read
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El Cotidiano
So after yesterday's blog post, I woke up thinking about the Cotidiano. It's a word I learned in Spanish before I learned it in English....
Oct 15, 20243 min read
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I have to be careful
Because my brain feeds me a lot of ideas and they pull at me. But to accomplish anything meaningful, I have found that I really need to...
Oct 14, 20243 min read
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There are things that you can do as a parent that pay dividends. Here's one.
It started with swim lessons. I took the boys a few times a week. That presupposes that as a parent you can do that. My parents could...
Oct 13, 20243 min read
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Political Polarization Fucking Sucks
Today I texted with a family member about Trump. He initiated the conversation by telling me about Elon Musk's PAC, which I already know...
Oct 12, 20243 min read
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Oh god this is so, so sad
Around noon today my son Diego let me know that there had been a death on Western Washington University's campus: a kid had died from a...
Oct 11, 20243 min read
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I'm Going to Write a Screenplay
I have a friend named CHIP who read my book. And every other week or so he calls me to tell me to write the screenplay for my novel....
Oct 10, 20241 min read
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The Possibility of the Mask Lifting
Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. --Paul...
Oct 9, 20244 min read
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shut up
When I left Cal Poly in 2021, I was tired of language, of the written word. I was tired of evaluating writing. I had been teachign...
Oct 7, 20243 min read
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Everything is OK
What a relief to know that after the last three years of not teaching, I could prepare a talk and not shake upon delivering it, that I...
Oct 6, 20242 min read
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In about 10 hours I'm teaching for the first time in three years
This should not be a big deal, right? I have something to offer. People are generous and will not throw old, over-ripe tomatoes at me,...
Oct 5, 20241 min read
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