Category Archives: Family Life

Dinner Time

Posted on November 2, 2020 by advicefrommarta

I’ve been going a little nuts with dinner at my house. I’ve never been that interested in cooking. I mean, I can cook. I’m even a good cook. I just don’t care that much. When I first began cooking for … Continue reading →

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Tab: A Eulogy

Posted on October 18, 2020 by advicefrommarta

This week brought news of the impending death of Tab. If you have never enjoyed a Tab it is hard to explain the cold, bubbly taste, at once both sweet and acrid. Imagine a Coke, with a tablespoon of vinegar … Continue reading →

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Making the Bed

Posted on September 21, 2020 by advicefrommarta

It took me a long time to start making my bed. As a child, it was not something required in my house. It was something saved for company, summer camp, and my one year of boarding school. In college, making … Continue reading →

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Sunday Morning Photos

Posted on September 7, 2020 by advicefrommarta

When he’s bored with his own phone, my 14-year-old son likes to pick up my phone and go through the photos. My phone is 5 years old, so over a third of his life is stored in it. “You take … Continue reading →

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9:00 AM Leaks

Posted on August 30, 2020 by advicefrommarta

The other day, at about 9:00 am, we discovered a leak in our kitchen sink  and I suddenly realized why I’m so tired. It was not the leak. One rainy day when I was about 9 my BFF and I … Continue reading →

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The Smell of Creosote

Posted on August 26, 2020 by advicefrommarta

There was a storm the other day, just a little thunder, wind, and rain here, but farther to the north, it was a storm. When I went outside the next morning it smelled like creosote. More precisely, it smelled like … Continue reading →

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The Kitchen Table

Posted on August 20, 2020 by advicefrommarta

                          We have always been a kitchen table kind of family. We’re lucky, we have both an eat-in kitchen and a formal dining room. We use them both. … Continue reading →

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Other People’s Children

Posted on January 18, 2020 by advicefrommarta

This morning I went to a bat mitzvah. In almost every bar/bat mitzvah there is a part where the other children in the congregation are invited to come up to the bimah. It usually takes a little coaxing, first, the … Continue reading →

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Across the Aisle

Posted on October 22, 2019 by advicefrommarta

On Sunday, my husband, teenage daughter and I took the El downtown to the ballet. When we got on a friend I don’t see often was unexpectedly on board and I was excited to chat with her. A few stops … Continue reading →

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A Month of Endings

Posted on March 22, 2019 by advicefrommarta

In our house March 2019 was a month of endings. I quit my job. My son quit hockey, deciding not to move up to the next level, and after nine years, my daughter quit Irish dancing. None of these things … Continue reading →

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