'Grampa Ed' comes alive as the memories roll (11/12/08)
Besides being Veterans Day, yesterday was also my dad's birthday -- he would have been 81. When he died, he was 50, I was 15, and I thought my world had ended. For years after, I could only remember him with sorrow and regret. Lately, my youngest son, who only has one living grandparent, started asking questions about the "Grampa Ed" he never got to meet, and, even though it was painful, I started talking about him...

Presidential race mesmerizes young 'voter' (11/05/08)
I had one of those "Omigosh, I'm getting old" moments Tuesday morning, when I realized my oldest son was voting for the president at the same time I was. For that matter, so was my youngest son, only, unlike Scott's, Buzz's vote didn't count. He goes to Bel-Aire Elementary School in Tullahoma, which has always been the bellwether voting precinct for the town. How the vote goes there, so it usually goes nationwide...

'Mary's Law' strikes at the worst times (10/29/08)
I've decided to rename Murphy's Law into Mary's Law because, believe me -- if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong with me first. My 16-year-old, Ben, plays trumpet in the Tullahoma High School band, which means almost every Friday night, when I'd rather be hibernating, I'm dragging my sleepy self out to the minivan and over to the high school to pick him up after a football game...

The great Halloween costume dilemma has begun (10/22/08)
With Halloween just around the corner, the great costume dilemma begins at our house. You'd think with only a 9-year-old to outfit, it would be easy, especially since he starts planning his costume around 10 p.m. Oct. 31 every year -- as soon as he's put away the costume he just wore...

Don't get between reporters and buffet (10/15/08)
Someone brought the newsroom a plate of barbecued wings the other day and, being reporters, we dove in. A johnny-come-lately stuck her head around the corner and said "I heard you've got wings?" "Mmwha wnnngszzzh?" Which, when you can swallow a mouthful of chicken and finally enunciate, translates as "What wings?"...

Pants law won't work for my kids (10/08/08)
A town in Florida recently passed a law against baggy pants. You know the kind I'm talking about -- the hip-hop jeans that let the world see entirely too many underwear brand names. Part of me thinks, "Hooray!" It is, in my humble opinion, a really awful style and doesn't flatter anything -- especially the intelligence of those who think they look good in them...

Speaking of cell phones, it's all geek to me (10/01/08)
After being abandoned by my 18-year-old -- who for some odd reason thinks living in Nashville and going to art school is a lot more fun that staying at home and doing laundry for his brothers -- I have been forced to face the facts. I am obsolete. In the world of microchips, Macs and megabytes, I have met the enemy and he is all of the above...

In a world of suckers, it pays to be skeptical (09/24/08)
If there's any hard-life lesson I've had to teach my sons, it's "Be skeptical." In my job, it's not so much an occupational hazard as it is an occupational requirement (snopes.com is my first source when it comes to rumors and speculation). But everyone could benefit from a little bit of skepticism now and then...

Picky eater is odd man out in my family (09/17/08)
"I don't like cherry pie," said Buzz. I'm aware of that, but it still startles me. Not liking cherry pie in my family is kind of like being a Kennedy and voting a straight Republican ticket. It shimply izzn't done, Muffy ... With Thanksgiving lurking around the corner, I can't help think about pies and preferences. ...

Why I haven't left him -- and why I never will (09/10/08)
With my 21st wedding anniversary on Friday, I have to write my obligatory "I'm so glad I married you" column for my husband. Some years, it's easier than others, depending on how many times I've had to put the toilet seat down the week before. I met a man a few weeks ago on one of our camping trips whose wife had left him after 30 years. There were no overwhelming reasons -- no infidelity, no financial issues, no child-rearing conflicts...

The time has come to move on (09/03/08)
I think my youngest son, Buzz, is getting used to my oldest son, Scott, being gone. He still lugs around some of the things Scott left behind, including the hideous stuffed toy armadillo I was really, really hoping he'd take with him. But Buzz stood in the doorway of my bedroom last night and said, "It's time to move on, Mom."...

Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain (08/27/08)
We were sitting on a covered deck this weekend with some friends, just talking, playing some games, shooting some darts. When the rain started, everyone fell silent at the same time, just to listen to the sound of raindrops on a tin roof. You know those background music tapes you can buy in the New Age stores (my husband calls them the Holistic Head Shops) that have the sounds of whales singing, waves on a beach, and so forth? The idea is that these are calming, serene noises that lower your blood pressure and help you work and sleep better.. ...

Glad to be back in horse heaven (08/20/08)
I kissed my husband goodbye this morning and hugged my two youngest sons. "I'll see you in 10 days," I said. "If you need me -- whinny." They're used to it. Last year was the first time in ages they haven't lost me to the Celebration. (Remember the metrosexual editor of my former paper? He didn't think the biggest horse show in the world was newsworthy.)...

Letting go is so hard to doooooo (08/13/08)
My oldest son, Scott, moved into his own apartment this weekend, getting ready to start college. He found the place, paid for it, set up the utilities, transferred his job -- he took care of everything himself. Part of me is a little wounded -- we moms like to be needed. ...

Genuine love of horses conquers all things smelly (08/06/08)
It was a Robert Duvall moment. You know -- that moment in "Apocalypse Now" when he steps out into the breaking dawn, takes a deep breath, and says, "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning ..." I love the smell of horse barns in the morning. And the evening, and the afternoon...

Attack of the killer zucchini (07/30/08)
I love summer! Winter has Santa Claus, spring has the Easter Bunny, fall has trick-or-treating, but summer has the Veggie Fairy, that mysterious creature who leaves plastic shopping bags full of summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes and zucchini on my doorstep...

Turn off the tube, tune into life (07/23/08)
Due to circumstances completely within my control (I forgot to pay the cable bill again), we were without television for a few days last week. I believe, with therapy, we will make a full recovery. My oldest son, Scott, who is annoyingly saint-like with his vegetarian diet and exercise regime, didn't even notice the idiot box had been decommissioned. He was out saving whales or Zen meditating under Rutledge Falls...

Homebound mother wonders, 'Where's the beef?' (07/16/08)
I had to make one of those crucial, life-altering financial decisions the other day, right up there with purchasing a house, choosing a college and saying "I do." This one involved buying gas... Unfortunately, there really wasn't any choice, but having gas money for work means losing gas money for family jaunts. Since selling a kidney on eBay is not an option, we've been staying close to home...