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Ainsley was excited about a book she brought home from school the other day - "Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History" by Vashti Harrison. She said she recognized the cover, as I had given her another book in the series - "Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World." Both books, designed for kids, are visually appealing, with the women drawn by Harrison as little girls so readers can identify with them. I confess I find the books just as enticing as Ainsley does. T...
Everyone seems to be able to agree on one thing about Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show. It was sexy. So sexy, in fact, that my 11-year-old covered her head at one point with a blanket and remained hidden for most of the performance by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Two adult friends shared their feedback with me Monday. One guy, married with no kids, said he appreciated the Latina influence and enjoyed watching Shakira and J-Lo try to out-dance one another. The other, a mom who...
Four short weeks from tomorrow is opening night for “Hinsdopoloy,” the 2020 Community Revue. I’ve been part of the revue cast for 16 years now. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the revue, it’s a fundraiser for The Community House held just about every other year. A very talented group of writers and our esteemed director create an original script and rewrite the lyrics to Broadway and popular songs to create a show that pokes fun at all things Hinsdale (wealth,...
Alternative universes. They were the subject of a recent podcast from This American Life - "Gardens of Branching Paths." I enjoyed hearing the stories of a Jew imagining parallel universes without the Nazis, a speech President Bill Clinton might have given before he was impeached, twins who feared they were switched as infants and a Korean-born woman who wondered what life might have been like had she not been adopted by an American couple. At first I thought the topic of...
Readers of Scary Mommy and the Today Show parenting blogs know Christie Cuthbert as a contributor. Texans know her as a writer for San Antonio Woman Magazine and Alamo City Moms. Hinsdaleans remember her as a former neighbor, fellow parishioner, Juniors member - and associate editor of The Hinsdalean. Now she's also the author of a new book. "Mom! I Farted in Church," which she officially released at a launch party Jan. 9. I caught up with her over the phone Tuesday to talk...
Every January for the past few years, Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich has chosen an annual "guiding word" and encouraged readers to do the same. I heard about this for the first time over the weekend and was intrigued. Her word for 2020 is "slower" - an interesting choice, she admits, for a woman who works on deadline. As she goes on to discuss, though, slowing down rarely makes us late. "All we have to do is breathe more slowly, and we know that slowing down is a way...
I love Christmas, but I'm not sure I could survive 12 months of shopping, wrapping, baking, mailing cards and hosting gatherings at a holiday pace. And while I'm ready to embark on a new year, I'm not quite ready to give up all that filled the holiday season with wonder and joy. So, in lieu of resolutions, I offer the following ways in which I hope to keep the holiday spirit with me this year. • Keep in touch My refrigerator is covered with pictures of friends beaming from h...
I love traditions — especially at this time of year — and one of my favorites has been penning my annual birthday letter to Ainsley. I wrote my first in December 2011, just before she turned 3, and have continued every year since. Ainsley still seems to like seeing her name in the paper and readers still tell me they enjoy hearing about her. (I realize both of these may change at any moment!) So, today, I offer the 2019 installment. Dear Ainsley, In exactly one week you wil...
I should have taken more nutcrackers. My mother-in-law wanted me to take more. She wanted us to take lots of things as she and my father-in-law were clearing out the Western Springs house they had lived in for almost 50 years. Sandra had struggled with rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments for years, and eventually the stairs proved too much for her. She and my father-in-law, John, were moving into a condo at Lake Hinsdale Village, where everything would be on one floor and...
Hallmark movies are big business. Just take a quick peek at the merchandise available and the list of stars appearing on the channel this month. They're also a source of entertainment - especially at our office, where we love to tease the two people who watch them most often: Jim and Ken. Ken does a great plot narrative, highlighting the same events that take place in all of the movies, including Christmas versions. He is a kindred spirit of cartoonist John Atkinson, who...
I’ve always been a rule follower. You’d think this would have delighted my mother when I was a child. Unfortunately, as I had no siblings, she had no comparative yardstick with which to measure my behavior. As a result, she saw my very infrequent lapses as major transgressions. Anyway, I unfortunately carried this mindset with me into adulthood. I’ve worked diligently to break some of the “rules” I learned growing up, such as “All the laundry must be put away immediately...
Remember the “Hinsdale School News” some folks in town received right before the April 2 election? The eight-page publication — printed on newsprint to look like a local newspaper — was highly critical of the $140 million referendum Hinsdale High School District 86 had on the ballot, among other things. We reported on the publication, emphasizing to readers that it was not a product of District 86, even though it named both the district and included the District 86 logo. A...
I’ve always loved crafts. As a kid, I would ask for different kits as Christmas gifts and then spend the days of winter break burning wood (and often my finger) or modeling clay. Even as an adult, I am always attracted to an opportunity to create something (that doesn’t involve a keyboard!). So occasionally I will look on Pinterest to check out the ideas posted there. This is almost always a mistake, especially at this time of year. I will admit I have gotten some good ide...
What do you believe? I just finished reading the responses of 80 people to that question in “This I Believe,” a book released in 2007 (and discovered recently on my bookshelf). It’s based on an NPR series of the same name. I found the book — from the content of the individual essays to the variety of responses — fascinating. Contributors ranging from students to politicians to Einstein share their beliefs in everything from being kind to the pizza dude to always attending the...
When Ralphie wakes up to see the snow glistening on the ground, the ice-covered trees sparkling in the sunlight, he’s filled with wonder. Of course, in “A Christmas Story,” this scene happens on Dec. 25, not Oct. 30. Charlie Brown and Linus are definitely not wearing coats as they discuss whether the Great Pumpkin will appear in the Peanuts’ Halloween classic. Waking up yesterday morning to a blanket of white — with more wet, heavy snow falling from the sky — I felt no des...
If you were worried a friend or family member was suffering from domestic abuse, would you know the signs to look for? Would you know where she could turn for help? If you know Hinsdale’s Bana Atassi, the answer to those questions is probably yes. Atassi is a five-year member of the board of Pillars Community Health, a nonprofit organization that offers a variety of services, including shelter and other support for domestic violence survivors. Atassi said she tries to r...
And in the blink of an eye, it’s over. Summer 2019 is in the books. I know, I know. Summer will continue until the autumnal equinox marks its official end Sept. 23. But summer — for the purposes I discuss here — ended this week with the start of school. And this year — as it has every August since Ainsley was in preschool — its unofficial conclusion has taken me by surprise. We are somewhat prepared, with a large box of school supplies sitting in our living room. With any...
I was going through my inbox the other day, trying to clear out some old emails. This is some of what I found. • Recipes from Epicurious for 63 work lunches that don’t need refrigeration. • A link to download photos from Ainsley’s summer theater camp. • Eddie Bauer’s reminder that I have a $20 reward to spend by Oct. 7. • A request from a student looking for feedback on her work. • An invitation to pitch in a retirement gift for one of Ainsley’s former preschool teacher...
We had a special guest take up residence outside our back door for several weeks this summer. We didn’t notice her at first. We simply woke one July morning to find a large, intricate spider web extending from the side of the house to a post outside our back door. My husband grabbed a broom and cleared the web away so we wouldn’t accidentally lean into it while tossing recyclables in our bin. The next day, when the web reappeared, we knocked it down again. On day three, the...
Every September I have the bittersweet task of bidding a group of contributing columnists farewell and welcoming a new group of writers to our paper. This year three writers have finished their terms — Rob Johnson, Laura LaPlaca and student columnist (and now Hinsdale Central graduate!) Annika Agrawal. We also are saying a premature goodbye to Jim Hutchinson, who is moving with his wife, Donna, to Oberlin, Ohio, to be closer to his daughter, son-in-law and grandson. H...
Just a few days into fifth grade and the daily petitions have begun. Ainsley NEEDS a cellphone, she tells me. EVERYONE else in her grade has one. Ainsley clearly wants a cellphone, and I know for a fact several kids in her grade have one. But that isn’t a strong enough argument for me to get her one — not when she’s 10 years old. I had hoped to find some fellow parents who would be willing to take the “Wait Until Eighth” pledge with me, but I’ve been too frightened...
I was listening to the radio in the car the other day and all of the sudden realized I was singing along. “Believe it or not, I’m walking on air. I never thought I could feel so free.” How did I know this song? “Flying away on a wing and a prayer. Who could it be? Believe it or not it’s just me.” And then it hit me. “The Greatest American Hero.” I had an immediate visual of the guy who starred in the show, with his curly blond hair and his red superhero costume. The sh...
A young man rang our doorbell Tuesday night last week, interrupting one of my less successful parenting moments. As soon as I opened the door and saw his clipboard, I knew what he wanted. He was selling subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal — for a mere $100 — so he could get his degree from Northwestern University. He had graduated from Lane Tech, gone to community college for two years and already raised $14,000, he told me. He was very friendly and very chatty, com...
This spring a litter of kittens sought shelter in a window well on the south side of our house. Once our dog Lizzy discovered them, they decided to seek other accommodations. The kittens that took up residence at our house last week, however, were much more resolute. Ainsley and I first spotted them when Lizzy was raising a ruckus at one of our living room windows. A cute little black kitten sat outside, staring at Lizzy with a “You can’t get me!” look on its face. We went...
I have long been a fan of fall. While others are lamenting the end of sunny, 85-degree days, I long for the arrival of the autumn (but not so much that I acknowledge "meteorological fall" on Sept. 1 - I wait for the actual equinox!). Spring certainly has its merits. The day when winter coats, scarves, mittens and boots can be traded in for a sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers certainly is a happy day, especially if you're trying to get a kid to school on time. And it's not...