I dropped off daughter #2 for church camp this morning. This will be her ninth year. Over each of the past eight years, she has spent many days anticipating and planning for this one week. To say she loves it is an oversimplification. She would tell you, it’s exactly where she belongs for that one…
When you live in an old cow town, they run the cattle down Main Street to open the County Fair! (Write Every Day #12)
We are a suburb of SF, but we are an old cow town. Today, all of Pleasanton lined Main Street, waiting for the cows to come home. There I am, one among hundreds. Maybe thousands. They rarely close Main Street, except for our monthly street fair through the summer, but our town is known for…
Did you move away from home? Did you go back? (Write Every Day #11)
Before you read this post, take a look at this article about “Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay.” I was one of those who left. Packed up, headed out. Across the country. Away from my hometown, which was more suburban than rural, but I am a late Boomer. It’s kind of what we did. It…
Our latest gun tragedy; a few thoughts. (Write Every Day #10)
I woke up to the terrible news of the shooting in Virginia. A shooter. Again. Five people injured but no deaths, thanks to security detail that was on the scene. Right now, there is a press conference. People want answers where few exist. The investigation is so fresh. Safety is a worry. No one is…
Let’s Talk Climate Change: Up Close and Personal (Write Every Day #9)
Le’ts talk climate change. The evidence can be seen in my backyard. The tragedy of the pines is a little like the canary in the goldmine. Five years ago, my husband and I bought a tiny cabin in the woods of Amador County, in California. The forest was the selling point because the house was…
Like the very best magic tricks, our children grow up and leave us wondering how they did that. (Write Every Day # 8)
Our daughter, having finished her freshmen year of college, just took off for her first day of a paid internship with the Port of Oakland . This is an internship she researched and applied to on her own. The competition was fairly stiff and yet she landed the job. Suddenly, she’s very grown up —…
When a child graduates, let’s celebrate the mommies and the daddies too. (Write Every Day #7)
When my daughter graduated high school last year, I did all the traditional things that parents do for their graduates. I cried when I took her for her senior portraits and cried again when the prints arrived. We invited family to the graduation ceremony and cheered wildly for her as she crossed the stage. And…
Oh, the Nit Wits! Don’t let the cute picture of the dog fool you. (Write Every Day #6)
This is why I get stuck on what to write: the dog peed everywhere, just before I had my first cup of coffee; my daughter discovered she has a mild case of lice (eww, ick — they are sneaky, insidious creatures so we have to go into full combat mode); and I feel like the…
An Archaeological Dig in the Guest Room (Write Every Day #5)
I’m diving into my guest room today because it’s got to get cleaned out. Diving is the operative word because it has become the repository for all “things that have no place.” Do you have a room like that? Oh, an extra blanket? Throw it on the fold-out couch in the guest room because guests…
Please Pardon Our Distraction (Write Every Day #4)
My morning quiet. I cherish it. It’s in the quiet of daybreak that I can think . . . and it’s the best time for me to write. If I don’t write as I sip that first cup of morning coffee, the noise of the day gets too loud and pulls me away from that…
When Dad Built Us Forts (or holes in the sand, with benches to sit on): Write Every Day #3
That’s my sister’s foot on the far right side of the picture. I think I may have cropped her out when I saved the shot, although you shouldn’t read too much into that. I think I just wanted a picture of just Dad and me, playing in the sand. I may be four years old…
Write every day: Day 2 of Summer
I’m only on my first cup of coffee so I’m not convinced that I have anything wise or interesting yet to put on the page. I had a rough night’s sleep — tossing and turning. Insomnia, that uninvited and unwelcomed guest, visited again. As I grab my first cup of caffeine, I can’t stop thinking…
Barbara Ganias Comstock 