• Created on 11/16/10 by AdinaL

It occurred to me recently that this is a mighty powerful question. What’s it going to take? We usually use that phrase in dire circumstances. What’s it going to take for you to wake up? What’s it going to take for me to quit? What’s it going to take for them to realize? But life is an urgent circumstance, really, when you think about it. Birth…miraculous. Survival…miraculous. Death…inevitable. Suffering…optional. Life…urgent. I wonder what my days would be like if I approached my happiness with more urgency and insistence (like I... read more

• Created on 11/16/10 by AdinaL

Corina is waiting for me, sitting in a patch of sunlight at the table outside Starbucks. She looks different. Her auburn hair is longer, pulled back in a ponytail. The last time I saw her she was pregnant and happy, smiling and chatting with customers. Now she’s hunching her shoulders as if to keep out the November cold. She’s wearing a black jacket over a hoodie and blue jeans. I notice under the table her black and gray sneakers have bright blue laces. She asked me to meet her because she wanted to tell her side of the story. She contacted me... read more

• Created on 11/18/10 by AdinaL

One month ago today, a baby named Fox Elijah King was born to an awesome & radical couple, my friends April & Morgan.  April had a normal, healthy pregnancy, prioritizing an already-stretched budget to eat whole foods; she labored & delivered Fox naturally even though her birth was hard & fast.  He was lovingly welcomed, breastfed & kept intact.  He had a safe sleeping spot near his mama & was held constantly; embraced with an allegiance that can only come from a mother who was totally thrilled with his existence, a woman who studied motherhood to learn the... read more

• Created on 11/21/10 by AdinaL

Whenever I watch the reality TV show Giuliana & Bill, I tell my husband: “Their lives parallel ours!” (Well, except for the minor details that they are rich, famous, and beautiful.) She wants to live in L.A. He wants to live in Chicago. They go back and forth. I want to live in L.A. Ron wants to live in D.C. This winter, we’re going back and forth. They are experiencing infertility. We are experiencing infertility. She is concerned about what the hormone medication might do to her body; so am I. I hope she hooks up with Pulling Down the Moon in Chicago. I’d love... read more

• Created on 11/23/10 by AdinaL

I write from my home office, on a danish teak table, in front of a big window looking onto our street. I usually have the blinds closed because the sunlight makes it hard to read the computer screen. And from the sidewalk, at nearly the same time everyday, I hear loud hollering yelps, a groaning-holler of confusion and speculation that is impossible to ignore. The noises are coming from a young man, about 20-something with really short brown hair and big brown eyes. He’s clearly mentally disabled. I don’t know his name. I’ve named him Jerry. He wears a red... read more

• Created on 11/24/10 by AdinaL

Hello all!  Thanks to a beautiful deep layer of snow that fell on our land this past weekend, we’ve been without internet for five days now.  What feelings does imagining that bring up for you?  A healthy dose of panic, perhaps? It is striking, isn’t it, how utterly dependent we’ve become on this beast called the internet.  I wanted to find a special pumpkin pie recipe - it was online.  I needed the phone number for internet repair – it was online.  I wanted to let friends know about a great fundraiser happening in our community last weekend – on facebook… I... read more

• Created on 11/28/10 by AdinaL

Last year, around this time, I was pregnant. I never expected, or desired pregnancy. It was just something I never thought of or wanted. I never “tried” getting pregnant. I was never one of those women who desperately wished for children. I have never heard the proverbial ‘biological clock’ ticking. I had no trouble conceiving (four times total, one full-term pregnancy and birth), even with the added complications of being on anti-convulsants-for Epilepsy- for most of my life. I wouldn’t find out for sure until December 2, but I knew I was... read more

• Created on 11/28/10 by AdinaL

It was January. My husband and I had left sunny California and moved all the way across the country to D.C. The days were heavy. Gray. Cold. I was homesick. I was struggling to build a new career. And then I had a miscarriage. It was one of the worst winters of my life. That was three years ago. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better at handling D.C. winters and my seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but I wonder. The other day, my alarm went off and I looked at the pile by my bed: yoga pants, running shoes, a warm pullover, mittens, and a hat. I knew it was... read more

• Created on 11/29/10 by AdinaL

One of my most pleasant, in fact, euphoric, car-buying experiences was at a dealership in Virginia. They had a “no haggle” policy. “So let me get this straight,” I said, leaning against the shiny Jetta. “THIS sticker price is THE price?” “Uh huh,” said Mr. Sales Guy. “Can you throw in new tires?” I pressed. “Nope, this is the price.” “You gonna hit me with some hidden costs?” I prodded. “Nope, this is the price.” “Do you think I can get it it cheaper at the lot down the road?” I asked, eyebrow raised. “Maybe, but... read more

• Created on 12/7/10 by AdinaL

Success and failure go hand in hand. “The things you are fired for are often the things that in later life you will be celebrated and given life time achievement awards for!” Francis Ford Coppola was canned for writing an “odd” and awkward script for the now legendary film Patton. The film was shelved, took years to make, and then went on to win an Oscar for best screenplay. Meanwhile, Coppola was working on The Godfather and was also on the verge of being canned from that film. He figures the glory from the Oscar saved his butt from being fired from The... read more