The Washington Post ran a column by Monica Hesse this week, The Unreasonable Expectations of Motherhood in America Today — and its Consequences. In it, Hesse talks about the falling birth rate in the United States and all the institutional reasons why she and other U.S. women feel forced to put off parenthood or forgoContinue reading “Motherhood and the Internet Trolls”
Category Archives: Politics/Government/Current Events
Stupid People
I read an online comment this week that set my teeth on edge. This person said, “Anyone who worries because their kids are not vaccinated is an idiot. Period.” I wanted to respond. I almost responded. But then I didn’t. There is no point. Nothing I could say would get through to someone like this,Continue reading “Stupid People”
An American Hero
Yesterday I attended an inspiring Zoom session as part of the NFPW conference. our speaker was Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, the first Black students at Central High School. When she arrived at the campus the morning of September 4, 1957, she was all alone, a shy 15-year-old surrounded by thousands ofContinue reading “An American Hero”
Friday Five: A Year Later
1) What are you doing this spring that you weren’t doing 1 year ago?Making travel plans! A year ago, the pandemic lockdown was relatively new, it was hard even to get a covid test, let alone a vaccination, and it seemed that we would be stuck at home forever. Now, with the U.S. vaccination rateContinue reading “Friday Five: A Year Later”
Travel Plans, Past and Present
Nine years ago today I was packing to embark on one of the best trips ever. I traveled to Italy, and everything about it was magnificent. The first week was part of a tour of Tuscany set up with a professional association I belong to. There were only seven of us on the trip, andContinue reading “Travel Plans, Past and Present”
Just Add Books
Two years ago today, we were preparing to install our Little Free Library, LFL#9136, at our new address. I had originally opened the library in front of our old house in 2013, after a friend built it for me. It was popular on our old street, just a few blocks from here, and when weContinue reading “Just Add Books”
Taxing Times
We finished our tax return this evening. As usual, it was a complete pain in the neck. Why does the IRS make this so complicated? The government already has so much of this data. Each year, we all receive forms from the IRS, providing us with numbers that we then have to put on otherContinue reading “Taxing Times”
Photo Friday: Griffon
Facebook reminded me this week of some photos I posted six years ago, of the George Washington Middle School Orchestra trip to a music competition at Busch Gardens theme park. I was a chaperone. The orchestra competed onstage Friday, and then spent all day Saturday having a blast at Busch Gardens, until it was timeContinue reading “Photo Friday: Griffon”
Running on Empty
Gasoline is suddenly hard to come by in the southeastern U.S., including here, because hackers broke into the pipeline system and stole 100 gigabytes of data, forcing a shutdown. My state, Virginia, is one of four that have declared states of emergency. About half of gas stations in Virginia are now completely out of fuel,Continue reading “Running on Empty”
Were the Good Old Days That Good?
A question online asked whether kids in the U.S. today, with cell phones, social media, and other technology, have childhoods that were better than ours were, or worse. Almost everyone who replied said absolutely that our childhoods, in less technologically connected times, were way better that childhoods are today. I was one of the fewContinue reading “Were the Good Old Days That Good?”
