Category Archives: Family Life

Watermelon in Winter

Posted on January 26, 2024 by advicefrommarta

When my daughter is home from college she likes to go to the grocery store with me. It’s something we used to do together when she still lived at home. Before Covid, I bribed her with a latte. I wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Melameds

Posted on September 14, 2023 by advicefrommarta

This is Feige and Moshe Melamed. Feige was the sister of my great-grandmother. In the picture they are standing on the balcony of the hotel they owned in Kremenets, which at the time was Poland, and today is Ukraine. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life, Random Stories | Tagged , | Leave a comment

New Stories and Reruns

Posted on July 7, 2023 by advicefrommarta

My father has always loved Star Trek. He likes Spock more than Kirk and I think Picard more than either of them. Spock is not only undeniably Jewish, but the symbol for “Live Long and Prosper” is taken directly from … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Wild Daisies

Posted on June 19, 2023 by advicefrommarta

The house I grew up in had a huge backyard. In the front of the yard, just outside my bedroom window, was a large oak tree. The kind of tree that you could imagine a kid or teenager climbing out … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How to Make a PB&J

Posted on March 8, 2023 by advicefrommarta

I have heard that a frequent job interview question for engineers is to explain how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Although I will never be an engineer, I do know how to make a peanut butter and … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life | 1 Comment

Bearing Fruit

Posted on July 27, 2022 by advicefrommarta

Once, when my grandfather was a little boy, he walked with his grandfather, the exquisitely named Shlomo Zalman, from one shtetl to the next. On the way there, Shlomo Zalman gave my grandfather half a banana and then carefully wrapped … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life, Random Stories | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Leaving

Posted on April 8, 2022 by advicefrommarta

The other day my dentist asked me if I had plans for the summer. I told him I’d be driving my daughter to college in upstate New York, by myself. He told me that his daughter went to college in … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

True Love

Posted on February 27, 2022 by advicefrommarta

Shortly after Valentine’s Day a friend of my daughter’s interviewed me about love. The two are working on a class project, a documentary theater piece. Each person in the class is interviewing three people of three different generations about love. … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice I'd Like to Give, Family Life | Tagged | Leave a comment

Expiration Dates

Posted on December 28, 2021 by advicefrommarta

I am cleaning out my mother’s pantry. Occasionally, when I find a particularly old expiration date, I stop to text my sister or a friend with news of what I’ve found. Granola – 2019 Bean Dip – 2018 In 1991 … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life | 1 Comment

Mr. Peabody’s Coal Train

Posted on December 12, 2021 by advicefrommarta

It’s Friday night, and my son is taking the El to a high school basketball game. It is “the big game” with their “cross-town rivals.” The trash talk online is brutal. He is wearing his school colors, a bright orange … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life | Tagged , | 1 Comment