Essays

Hello friend, My 59th birthday is coming up fast. Which, of course, has me thinking about my 60th birthday.  What do I want to achieve between now and then?  How can I, by the time I turn 60, become a better version of myself? Being The Queen of the Chronic Overthinkers as I am, I…

Published in the Island Times July, 2011.   I return home to Peaks Island on the 7:15 p.m. ferry. How will I spend this clear summer Saturday night? I wonder. As I disembark, I spot my husband, Ron. Ron leans against the stone wall at Jones Landing, near a palette of beer earmarked for Reggae…

Published 2011 on ErrantParent.com “You know when people have sex?” asks Lindsey. She is in the third grade at Peaks Island School. This afternoon, we went into Portland for ballet class and are now on our way to catch the ferry home. Lindsey sits behind me on her grey plastic booster seat as our battered…

This essay was originally published in the Island Times in 2011. I live on a small Maine island, so earwig bugs aren’t the only things that crawl out of the woodwork in summer. Everyone I’ve ever known comes to visit—from Great Aunt Edna’s cousin Alan, to the guy who called me “Lisa Pizza” in kindergarten.…

Published 2-14-2011 in Northeast Flavor When I got to the chocolate shop, I felt a wave of doubt vibrate through my stomach. This is a mistake, I certainly don’t need these calories. Knowing that it would probably end in regret, I resisted with all my might. But the lure of the tiny glistening cubes, pyramids…