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Picture a hammock: blue, suspended between two maples. From the end of the hammock protrude two feet. They are well-tanned and have not seen a shoe in days. Sunlight glistens through the swaying pine branches beyond, dancing across the lake on a million tiny waves. The Internet scarcely touches this part of Wisconsin's northwoods; even the most urgent email is powerless to penetrate the pines. Oh Outlook, where is thy ping? It's family week here for four parents, three...
When my oldest child Brian was a baby, I befriended a Hinsdale woman of my mother's generation named Rose. She gave me loads of practical advice about baby care and even babysat Brian at our home during what turned out to be strange and historical circumstances when a fire in a Hinsdale telephone center cut off most phone service in the surrounding area. My maternity leave ended when the outage began and, lacking access to a satellite phone, I was unable to call home from...
“Why are you being so weird?” my son asked me as we drove to the DMV to get his driver’s license. “I feel like it’s my last chance to teach you,” I said, as I hurriedly told him what to do when you encounter a funeral procession on the road. He gave me a sidelong look and nodded. “I know, Mom. I know how to drive.” To my kids, I’m that annoying, unwanted advice-giver. I know they want to be independent and make their own decisions, but I’m still teaching and safeguarding an...
Life is best lived with the confidence of a 6-year-old in a princess costume. Let me explain. My oldest daughter Gabriella has always been one for costumes, crowns and princesses. Born with an imaginative mind, she is an expert in magical thinking and storytelling. However, there was a time when I began to worry that her zealous love of princesses might have become too much. A few years ago, she brought home a "what I want to be when I grow up" project. As we began to work on...
Three years ago, I was looking to attend a college that felt like a step into the real world. I wanted to go to a place far from home. I wanted to meet new people who came from backgrounds different from mine. And I wanted an environment where people were filled with love and pride for their school and community. Attending the University of Georgia brought me everything I had been looking for - and then some. Going into my freshman year, I knew very few things about the place...
Sometimes I wonder whether Teri Goudie was a figment of my imagination. Surely, no one individual could embody so much love, energy and life. She was the stuff that tall tales are made of: Supermom of five, Professional Guru, Adventure Enthusiast, an absolutely tireless Seeker of Light. Do I make her sound intimidating? She wasn't. Warm and caring, Teri was a woman who simply loved her family, her work, her faith, her friends. She was buoyed up by a boundless energy that...
Editor’s note: — Bill Lewis first wrote this column in November 2017. “Mary” is really Teri Goudie, who died Friday after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 64. If there’s one thing I excel at, it’s being “right.” Just ask me (but not my wife). And I’m happy to tell you that, in case you don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, I know everyone has their own reasons for their beliefs. That’s why I’m always willing to help people realize why they’re wrong. What can I say? I’m...
The tweet by @samwightt gave me pause: “Chicago’s suburbs are an infinite purgatory of farmland and decrepit downtowns networked together by boring county roads.” Really, Sam? You want “boring county roads”? Pick a day in late winter and drive 400 miles southwest down I-57 to the flat, open farmland of southeast Missouri, where I grew up. At any other time I probably would have scrolled past this diss against the suburbs, which I know have issues. But “decrepit downtowns?” Also: I was in the middle of touring with and then...
I just can't stand the bitter cold Chicago winters. With each passing year, I am becoming less tolerant of the cold, the wind, the polar vortices, the bone-chilling wind chills and the short, dark days. And so, when the summer rolls around, I bask in the long, sunny days, and I no longer complain about the heat and humidity. 99 degrees with 99 percent humidity and excessive heat warning? Bring it on! 110 degree heat index? Is that all you can do? That said, it has been very...
LEGOS have been a part of my life as a mother for close to two decades. They have been barefoot torture instruments, irritating dust collectors and mostly sanity-saving distractions for "boring" days. They seem to multiply in the dark like gremlins. Recently, however, I saw a meme that made me view LEGOS in a new light. It has inspired a personal journey. If you put a single LEGO brick down on a board, it's fairly unimpressive. Add another, though and then more and,...
Thirteen years ago on a sunny June 4, we picked up our kindergartner (Colette) and first-grader from school. Our son, strapped in his stroller and turning 1 in two weeks, seemed unimpressed with the excitement surrounding "school's out for summer." The moment was memorialized in a favorite family photo capturing us on the sidewalk that leads to Madison Elementary's front entrance. Fast forward to the same spot on a recent Sunday in May, and many of Colette's kindergarten...
When you all read this, I will be on the verge of waltzing, pending cooperation from my heels and spotty coordination, across Dickinson Field for the last time. A freshly retired Red Devil. And, as with every milestone, I find myself increasingly fixated on the future. I have even started pondering what I will pack for college this fall and what perhaps, I will be leaving behind. 1. An Illinois sweatshirt. This will not garner any popularity among my new classmates, but every...
First, in this age of full disclosure, I disclose that I am ... you guessed it ... a dad. But my preference for Dad's Day over Mom's Day goes well beyond self-aggrandizement. Dad's Day is just more fun. Let's take a closer look. On Mom's Day, the whole family has to get up really, really early, get dressed in really, really uncomfortable clothes, and then rush off to be robbed. This robbery is commonly referred to as Mother's Day brunch. It's perpetuated by legions of hotels,...
I'm walking my dog by The Lane Elementary. As we approach, she eyes the bulky bulldogs guarding the front and goes down on her front paws, ready to play. But the dogs are made of concrete. Recent additions honoring the school's bulldog mascot, they are lovely. "Not real," I say on repeat. Trying to teach her a new command. She sniffs and realizes I'm right. We walk on. Cement dogs capture her curiosity. If you see a curious husky pulling toward your house to greet your dog...
Time is on your side. Don't waste it. If you know anything about me, you know I absolutely despise waste. Wasted money, wasted energy and perhaps worst of all, wasted time. I have zero tolerance for it. Our society today wastes way too much time worrying about, talking about and arguing about things that are completely out of our control. Take the weather, for instance. How horrible has our spring been so far? I don't know anyone who hasn't expressed their dismay about the...
To quote another Brett (but I spell mine with one 'T'), "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. I liked beer. Still like beer." I've moved on from my '80s Old Style days with the rise of the craft beer/microbrewery scene around 2010. Back then, Three Floyds was, and remains, a 5-minute drive from my parent's house. When supply ran low, my dad was a willing interstate beer mule, delivering fresh Zombie Dust cases. As luck would have it, one of my 21 cousins in/ar...
"Our flight is delayed," announced the pilot - to the audible delight of my fellow passengers. My mom and I used mother-daughter mind-reading powers to acknowledge that we had a long night ahead. For those who don't know me, I am not what some people would call a happy flier. I am a superstitious one, a stressed one, a disorganized one, but never ever a happy one. I had college decisions coming out that night, heightening my desire to return home with my future looming in the...
Golf got started in the Scottish Highlands. Men would walk for hours - up and down, round and round. But one day, someone had the bright idea of knocking a tiny white ball ahead of him as he walked. That person, who shall remain anonymous to protect his life, started what we now call golf. A nice walk in stunning surroundings, apparently, was not enough for this masochist, he had to spoil it all by inventing, ugh, I can barely utter the word - golf! To this day, many pay homag...
I saw five robins in my front yard this morning. It’s almost time for baseball and the backstop at the Hinsdale Little League field in Peirce Park is being redone. Gabby AND Rachel are the next Bachelorettes and it’s March Madness. After two long years of COVID and now, with a war in Ukraine, it helps to find little things in our messy world that bring joy. I’m flattened by this post on social media. “Morning routine: 1. Wake up. 2. Check on Zelensky. 3. Coffee.” It’s surreal...
Incredibly, we will be celebrating my youngest child's 21st birthday in a couple of weeks. Now I know you're probably expecting another "I can't believe I'm that old" column, but instead I thought I would take this opportunity to impart some sage advice to my soon-to-be-legal daughter. It just might be good advice for all of us. Enjoy your first beer (insert "wink" emoji here). Maybe even two. But I'm telling you, it only goes downhill after that. I may or may not be speaking...
“The birds are always chirping. At least there’s that. Every morning when I step outside to get the newspaper, the birds are chirping. I can’t see them, but knowing they’re there gives me pause. I stand in my own silence, listening. Sometimes it’s just a moment, other days it seems I need more, so I lean against the porch railing and breathe deeply for as long as it takes, to clear my mind and find gratitude. At least in this moment, alone in my robe on my front porch, th...
If you are anything like me - a parent who spends countless hours in the car because your kids have a more robust social calendar than you do - your driving playlist has been one thing and one thing only as of late: the "Encanto" soundtrack. Hard to believe, but even after hearing it on repeat for the last month-plus, I still love it. When the tunes aren't streaming through our car speakers or the Echo, it's blaring from the television. My college roommate and I regularly exch...
For no reason in particular, my son and I have an out-of-town hockey tournament tradition of streaming classic country on our way to games. Hopefully I've passed the torch in keeping alive one of my favorite musical genres to the next generation. Most country artists who were popular from the '40s through the '70s have long passed (Willie and Loretta are the remaining icons), but the music lives on forever. This is American music to the core with very little exposure these day...
When I was young, my mom gifted me a beautiful red traditional Chinese dress, called a qipao. Qipaos are of Manchu origin and are typically slim-fitting with a high neckline and have intricate designs woven in. I wore mine everywhere: to formal dinners, holiday gatherings, other special occasions, and I even threw it on to strut down our long hallway (starting the trend of borrowing my mom's clothes from a young age). My dramatic walks down the runway were a weekly...
I consider myself an enforcer of the oft-neglected and seriously misunderstood apostrophe. After 15 years of teaching in college, I can tell you for sure its days are numbered. Few students can write beyond texting and that, of course, is a language all its own. The little old apostrophe just gets no respect. My students consider its placement to be strictly optional and a serious impediment to their creativity. "A little dot with a tail. What's the big deal, huh, professor?"...
