How I Got Married
Lately a couple of people have expressed an interest in how I managed to get married at the age of 41, after years of relationship failure. Before I write about my experience finding a husband, please understand – 1) When it comes to romantic love, I have no patience...
Married: the Pressure’s On
When I was single (for most of my life), I used to consider couples who were celebrating their 25th anniversary, or their 50th or even their 10th, and think that the point of being married was to stay married for a very long time. I thought you must have to start...
“Isn’t There Anyone Who Knows What Christmas Is All About?”
[I originally posted this on January 5, 2006. I'm running it again because I like how it shows that the heart of Christmas isn't Jesus. There's a long history to this holiday that has included more gluttony and sex than Christ.] Recently the History Channel aired...
Happy First Day of Winter!!
December is my favorite month of all. I love Christmas, but also winter is my favorite season and this is the very start of it. We have months of cold and snow and ice ahead of us! I'll state again that I was born and raised in California, but once I experienced my...
Being with Family
[The following discussion is completely academic and philosophical with no connection to anything real that has ever happened, anywhere.] Given that the members of a family have the longest history together, know each other the best and have had the most time to build...
Work and not-work
My husband, Bob, and I had lunch with a friend recently. I talked about Rotary International and what I do there. I mentioned that it's a rather low-status job, but I like the lighter workload and the people."And that's all right with you?" my husband's friend from...
You put THIS in the dryer?
So, in 2007 the spinster and the bachelor moved in together. I was 40, he was 44. I had spent 12 years living alone, he had spent even longer. Because I knew I'd need plenty of space (and patience) as I adapted to life in a couple, we deliberately melded our lives in...
2009 Goals Group
Cranky Pumpkin (I made this for work this past week)That's my gratuitious cake photo for the month. It was devil's food inside.Last March I blogged about a goals group I started so I could have help with my 2009 resolutions. It started out great, with nine women...
Rogers Park and how I feel about it
This is for Rudy, who asked a couple of questions about the place where I live.Rogers Park, which is on the far northside and borders the next town, is one of the most racially integrated neighborhoods in Chicago and I moved here in 1995. I love being a 50-minute...
Bob Went on Vacation
So my husband went on vacation in August, all by himself. I enjoyed very much having the apartment to myself, eating whenever I wanted and falling asleep without the white noise machine blaring to drown out his snoring. It reminded me of my old spinster days when I...
Welcome, Winter!
We didn't get much of a summer in Chicago this year. Temperatures stayed surprisingly cool through most of it and, although we got a few days that were above 85 degrees, I think most Chicagoans agree that this was a non-summer. That was particularly crappy for people...
From the inside
Back when I was single (a little over a year ago legally and three years ago in practice), I used to wonder what it would be like to be married. It seemed unfair that the general answer seemed to be "Every marriage is different." What the heck did that mean? Why...