I am not writing my blog right now because I want to spend time with the twins before they return to college. I scheduled these posts so the blog wouldn’t be empty and I could have space to best use the end of their break. A cop-out, but forgive me. Having them go is really, really hard. I need mental space to feel what I am feeling, help the kids through the transition, and sit in the quiet for a moment on the other side.

The middle layer consists of the lasts that I am resigned to because they will happen whether I like it or not. There was a last day of college, and I thought about that last day the entire time I was at college. There will be a day that my hair is no longer brown. I can dye it, but I can’t stop my hair from greying over, stop my skin from going soft with wrinkles. There will be (G-d willing) graduations for the twins and marriage and children (if they want them) of their own. These are the things I want to happen as much as I dread these lasts because the alternate is too terrible to consider. If my hair doesn’t go grey it isn’t a happy thing: it means I’m either dead or don’t have hair anymore. So I both grieve these endings long before they happen and also know that I don’t want the alternative to any of them.

Read the whole post here.

I am not writing my blog right now because I want to spend time with the twins before they return to college. I scheduled these posts so the blog wouldn’t be empty and I could have space to best use the end of their break. A cop-out, but forgive me. Having them go is really, really hard. I need mental space to feel what I am feeling, help the kids through the transition, and sit in the quiet for a moment on the other side.

Where I should be: the Western Ball with my cousin wearing the turkey cutlet gown and a pair of 3 inch black satin slides.

Where I am: at home.

My cousin wanted me to go to the ball with her and I have to tell you that even though I am completely anti-dressing up (which goes along with the anti-shaving-my-legs and the how-the-hell-do-you-apply-eye-make-up side of me) and it would have easily taken five hours of standing in freezing cold temperatures wearing nothing but a skimpy dress and I probably would have had my breasts fall off from frost bite, I really really really wanted to go to the ball. Not for the actual party, but just to be close to everything.

Seeing it on television made me want to go rub my cheek on the Mall grass.

Read the whole post here.

I am not writing my blog right now because I want to spend time with the twins before they return to college. I scheduled these posts so the blog wouldn’t be empty and I could have space to best use the end of their break. A cop-out, but forgive me. Having them go is really, really hard. I need mental space to feel what I am feeling, help the kids through the transition, and sit in the quiet for a moment on the other side.

I’m notorious for being unable to control my verbal diarrhea when I see famous people. One time, we were in Dupont and we were walking toward Christiane Amanpour and Jamie Rubin on the sidewalk when they parted to allow us to pass between them and I pretty much crapped myself and then told every employee at Kramer’s about it for the next hour.

I was at the Helen Hayes Awards because Josh was nominated for one of his plays, and we were at this party when Judd Hirsch walked by. And unable to control my own body, I pointed at him and screamed, “that’s Judd Hirsch!”

Which isn’t even the most embarrassing part. I DID THE SAME THING YEARS LATER TO PAULA DEAN.

Read the whole post here.

I am not writing my blog right now because I want to spend time with the twins before they return to college. I scheduled these posts so the blog wouldn’t be empty and I could have space to best use the end of their break. A cop-out, but forgive me. Having them go is really, really hard. I need mental space to feel what I am feeling, help the kids through the transition, and sit in the quiet for a moment on the other side.

And for those who know, the first Virtual Lushary happened around this time many years ago…

Those lyrics feel like they were made to describe my infertility experience. I just want to go where people get it. And maybe this speaks to your feelings too–to be in a place where you’re not fighting upstream against sensational articles or have relatives telling you why you shouldn’t adopt. Where people care if the anniversary of a loss is approaching. Where you can set your mind at ease by reading that thirty other people are thinking the same thing that you’re thinking. At my bar, there is no pain olympics because “you wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same.” We are all on this island and it doesn’t matter if you’ve decided to forego fertility treatments and start immediately on the adoption path or if you’re in the middle of your third IVF attempt. You are hurting. And I am hurting. And we are all on this island.

At least, that is how I hope people feel when they come here.
Read the whole post (and comments!) here.

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from December.

Helle and Death (Oskar Jensen): I really wanted to like this book. I mostly did, but I also had trouble connecting with the story. I didn’t believe the plot setup. And there were lovely moments, but there were also offensive moments. And those took you out of the story. I guess I would sum it up by saying it’s a solid mystery with some problematic features, which shouldn’t stop you from reading the book but may impact your feelings as you read it.

The City and Its Uncertain Walls (Haruki Murakami): This is a long book with an amazing payoff. The last part of the story is worth getting through the meandering portions where you don’t completely understand why you’re off on a tangent. There is a point to everything — every word in this book — and the story is like a lucid dream, one where you wake up understanding yourself better and feel comforted by what you’ve learned about the world. You will walk away feeling like you’ve been given a gift. The afterword just makes the book that much better.

The Blue Hour (Paula Hawkins): 3.5 rounded up. It was fine. I didn’t connect with the characters, which made it difficult to get into the story. It was well written, and I could see someone else liking it, but I couldn’t get into this one. But I’m leaving it on the list because if you like Paula Hawkins, you’ll probably like this one. But if you’re not a huge fan of Paula Hawkins, this book will probably not grab you.

Over My Dead Body (Maz Evans): I’m glad I ended the year with this book instead of the last book. This mystery was delightful. It was funny and campy, and I read the last page with a smile plastered across my face. Will you see every twist coming from miles away? Yes. Will you care? No. Because the point of this book isn’t really solving the mystery. The point — dare I say it — is the friends we made along the way. And I loved Miriam and Winnie.

What did you read last month?