Tag Archives: Family

Book Buzz: Seven Days of Us

October 23, 2018 11:55 am ,

I was pleasantly reminded of the movie “Love Actually” as I read Seven Days of Us, with its cast of quirky characters clustered and flustered at holiday time.

Book Buzz: Seven Days of Us

If you saw the movie (and see it if you haven’t; it’s especially uplifting right now) you’ll recall it takes place at Christmastime in London, with twelve intertwining love stories at various degrees of angst.

Seven Days of Us

In Seven Days of Us, author Francesca Hornak spins a similar tale with a twist of familial dysfunction. The Birch family welcomes home physician daughter Olivia, returning from a stint treating victims of a life-threatening Ebola-like virus in Liberia. For the first time in years, the estranged Birch family will be celebrating Christmas together. Really together.

Olivia is forced into quarantine due to her being in contact with the deadly virus, and so she is in virtual lockdown with the rest of her family for seven days at their ancient and crumbling country home outside of London, with mounting tension. And poor WiFi.

The narrative switches between the major characters’ distinct points of view and we are privy to their secrets, indiscretions and attitudes toward each other. Drama abounds in the form of infidelity, illness and sexual identity confusion, for starters.

I think many of us would find parallels in our own family dynamics in Seven Days of Us, perhaps not as juicy but at least reminiscent. Patriarch Andrew is a bad-tempered former war correspondent who now ruins restaurants by posting haughty reviews. His wife, Emma, attempts to keep the marital boat afloat and hides her own issues just to keep the peace. Younger daughter Phoebe is a fluttery bride-to-be consumed by plans for her wedding to fiance George. Olivia secretly pines for a fellow doc she met in Africa who is now all over the news for having contracted the dreaded virus they both were exposed to. And now she wonders, is she next in line?

On top of this, the unexpected arrival of Jesse is a shocker. I won’t tell you about Jesse because I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but his character is the catalyst for an emotional upheaval that affects the whole family and causes the lot of them to come to a reckoning.

Forget about the virus, can this family survive each other?

I liked Seven Days of Us. It was wry and insightful but with a splash of holiday punch to make it lighthearted. A quick and entertaining read, it might be just the thing as you contemplate your upcoming holiday plans.

Would you say your holidays are stressful, or more like a Norman Rockwell painting? Or a combination?

 

One of my lucky readers will receive a copy of Seven Days of Us. Please leave a comment on the Books is Wonderful Facebook page and a winner will be randomly selected. US addresses only, please.

 

I received a copy of Seven Days of Us from Berkley for an honest review,
which is the only kind of review I write.

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Grandparents Do the Darnedest Things

September 22, 2015 2:07 pm ,

Grandparents Do the Darnedest Things

If there is a grandmother alive who doesn’t love to talk about her grandchild, I haven’t met her.

Grandmothers love to talk about their grandchildren. Especially when the little ones are babies, miraculously learning new things all the time. Just ask a grandmother “What’s new with little So-and-So?’ and this is what will happen.

She will smile broadly, her face will light up, perhaps even her eyes will glisten.  She might grab your arm and exclaim, “I must tell you what he did yesterday. He’s so smart!”

According to reliable sources — my friends who are grandparents — there is nothing cuter, more captivating, more ridiculously precious than the antics of grandchildren.

I haven ‘t experienced being a grandmother firsthand. Not yet. For now, I am delighted to live vicariously through my friends’ lives as they navigate this territory that is still unfamiliar to me.

Like yesterday. I had lunch with two grandmother friends, Meredith and Jane, whose stories kept me entertained the entire time we were at the restaurant.

I sighed after wiping away tears of laughter.

A wistful sigh it must have been.

“Just wait,” Jane consoled me. “You’ll have your own grandkids.” She added, brightly, “Someday.”

This is what my friends tell me all the time. I’m behind schedule in the grandchildren department. Well, my schedule anyway.

Note to my kids: Kids, really, no pressure. And please take the necessary steps before giving me grandchildren. Specifically, love and marriage.

“What if,” mused Meredith, “our success as adults was measured the same way we measure the success of babies?”

I forked a wedge of omelet as I pondered her comment.

“Go on,” I said.

“Think about it,” she continued. “What do you ask a new mom about her baby? ‘Is he a good eater?’ If the answer is yes, we ooh and ahh. What a smart baby!”

This was a brilliant observation, I thought. The wheels in my mind started turning.

“Mer,” I said, “you’ve given me fodder for a blog post.”

Grandparents do the Darnedest Things

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if grandparents got the same adulation for doing precisely the same things babies do? We all like to be praised for doing a good job, big or small.

We get accolades for excelling in business, or landing a coveted job, or running a marathon.

But when was the last time you were applauded for …

  • Being a good napper
  • Making a solid poop
  • Clapping hands and doing So Big

Grandparents Do the Darnedest Things

  • Not crying when it’s time to go to bed
  • Burping after you finish a meal
  • Waving bye-bye
  • Getting a boo boo and being brave
  • Swallowing medicine and not spitting it out
  • Mispronouncing a word

Grandparents Do the Darnedest Things

  • Giggling when someone tickles you
  • Trying a new food and not making a face

Am I right?

Thank you, Mer and Jane, for the inspiration. And thank you to my (also a grandmother) friend Elise who helped me add a few items to this list.

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A Special Wedding Anniversary

June 18, 2014 10:18 am ,

Happy 64th wedding anniversary to my amazing Mom and Dad!

You read that right. Sixty-four years!

A special wedding anniversary for two special people.

If you met my parents, you would find it hard to believe they are old enough to have been married this long.

They are young – young at heart, young in appearance and spirit, and as deeply in love with each other as they were on their wedding day 64 years ago.

wedding anniversaryIt seems that every year we ask them their secret. My mom usually demurs and my dad makes a joke, but this year I wanted to pin them down.

What is the key to your marital success?

Mom: Mutual respect.

Dad: Having wonderful children.

wedding anniversary

What is the best thing about your spouse?

Mom: He is smart and funny.

Dad: Her beauty inside and out. Also, our compatibility — we see things the same way.

wedding anniversary

What advice can you give to other married couples?

Mom: Be affectionate with each other. Enjoy a close relationship with your children and grandchildren. Have fun.

Dad: Be tolerant of moods.

wedding anniversary

Their love has made our world go round.

There is no greater gift than growing up in a house filled with love and laughter. My brother and I know how lucky we are.

My parents’ happiness simply comes from enjoying life … together. They share a passion for art and Broadway shows, Penn State (where they met and have remained active alumni), reading The New York Times every day and The New Yorker every week, animals and in particular my dog Duncan, energetically supporting their community, and of course, their family.

wedding anniversary

wedding anniversary

Their genuine pleasure in being with each other is obvious. My dad often remarks that my mom is the most beautiful and most gracious woman in the world (she is). And my mom still laughs at every joke my dad makes (as do I. He is the wittiest person I’ve ever known).

wedding anniversary

They are adored by their children and grandchildren who are grateful for them every single day. To say they’ve been an inspiration is an understatement. I am blessed to have them in my life and I send them all my love on this special day, June 18, their wedding anniversary.

wedding anniversary

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Mother’s Day is Every Day

May 7, 2014 9:10 am ,

This is a Midlife Boulevard bloghop. Take a look at the posts shared by other midlife women at the end of this post.

This Mother’s Day, May 11, is the same day as my oldest child’s 35th birthday.

Wait. What? How can he be 35 years old? Aren’t I about that age?

Thirty-five years ago, my son arrived five weeks early, slightly jaundiced but a healthy size, suffering no worse for the wear other than, due to this sudden appearance, his mother’s lack of preparation. She never had made it to even one Lamaze class or a parenting lesson. Never learned how to do a cleansing breath. Missed out on Diapering 101. She (I) was clueless.

The first night home, the crying was incessant.

From both of us.

The early days of motherhood were fraught with both delight in my newborn and intense insecurity. Was I doing the right thing by jiggling my baby until my arms hurt because he wanted to be held? Or was I stifling his independence? Was I providing a sense of security, or damaging him for life?

Yes, these are the worries that crossed my sleep-deprived mind.

But I was lucky. I had the best role model in the world: my mother. She never told me what to do, but supported me and let me know I was doing a good job.

Six years later Evan’s sister arrived, and three years after that, another baby girl.

Mother's Day is Every Day

By then I realized that motherhood is something you must learn on the job. No amount of preparation can teach you how to comfort a colicky baby or disguise vegetables in applesauce.

Three kids and 35 years later, the memorable moments are countless. First days of school with new lunchboxes. Tryouts for basketball and tennis and soccer. Holidays and summer camp and weekends at the shore. Middle school drama and college applications. Friends and enemies and frenemies. Sweet moments, sad moments, times of tears and distress, of laughter and hugs to make it all better.

Mother's Day is Every Day

I remember …

The way we used to get down on the floor to build Legos with Evan and he would suddenly get up and say, holding up his index finger, “I’ll be wight back!”

Emily’s insistence on calling Roy Rogers (destination for her favorite chicken nuggets) Walter Rogers.

Laurie’s refusal to smile. “Smile, Laurie,” we would beseech as we pointed the camera. She just opened her mouth wide like she was saying ahhhh.

Mother's Day is Every Day

When your children are little it seems like time is going ever so slowly. Now, with the benefit of time and experience, I wish I could relive those days with the wisdom I acquired later in life, with a little less anxiety.

Mother's Day is Every Day

I wish I had known as a young mother that, in spite of my concerns and undoubtedly my mistakes, everything would turn out alright.

Mother's Day is Every Day

It’s been better than alright. It’s spectacular.

 

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Wordless Wednesday: The Last Day of Summer

September 25, 2013 12:36 pm ,

The last day of summer has always been more bitter than sweet to me, but this year I was given a gift that made the transition much easier.

The stars aligned to bring my geographically dispersed children home at the same time for a short visit: the first time the five of us had been together in over a year. We savored the togetherness at our favorite destination, the beach.

I will remember this special time as the autumn leaves swirl and darkness comes early.

last day of summer on the beachgirls playing in ocean last day of summerseagulls on beach summer

family on the beach in the summer

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My Mother’s Greatest Gift: a Daughter’s Love Story

May 5, 2013 9:28 pm ,

Capturing lightening bugs and dropping them in a glass jar with holes slit in the lid. Running full force into flapping bed sheets drying on our clothesline that smelled like sunshine. Licking bits of cookie dough from my sticky fingers. Bike rides and lots of books and flashlight tag with the neighborhood kids and sleepovers and Saturday matinees and piano lessons and summer camp and July 4th fireworks …

These are the things of which happy childhoods are made.

My mother’s greatest gift was being a mother who knew that.

curly hair, little girl, swing

She and my father gave my brother and me a childhood filled with the important things in life: love, acceptance, passion, and humor.

She also knew when discipline was necessary and stuck to her guns despite my wailing protestations, something I found out years later was one of the hardest jobs of motherhood.

family photo

Cute I may have been, but I could be a handful, and I knew my mother looked forward to Saturday nights when she and my dad went out to dinner with their friends and got away from us kids for a few hours.

While my dad left to pick up either Sharon or Kay Lynn or Pat, our favorite babysitters, my mother let me sit in the bathroom and watch while she applied her makeup and shimmied into a girdle. I admired her skill in painting her lips red without going outside the lines.

Once they had left, I experimented with her lipstick, blotting my lips on a tissue just like she did to remove the excess. I kneeled on the sink to get close to the mirror and kissed my image, saying dahling, dahling (my mother never said this). I powdered my nose and dabbed a drop of Chanel parfum on my wrist as she did, so I could be just like her. 

When I was about 12 years old people started telling me I looked like my mother. That filled me with happiness.

I was an awkward pre-teen with oily skin and clothes that never fit right, but if I bore a physical resemblance to my mother, I figured there was a glimmer of hope.

My mother taught me there is sweet a satisfaction in finishing the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle and making a perfect pie crust, both of which she can do marvelously.

My mother taught me about traditions, why making the same Thanksgiving dinner year after year is OK. Why piano lessons are good for you even though you hate them. Why a dose of laughter, along with a vitamin and green vegetables, must be part of your daily diet.

If I am like my mother, I am the person I always wanted to be.

The greatest gift from my mother, the best mother in the world, was how to be a mother myself.

mom, grandmother, daugher, grandson

My mother, grandmother, me and my first child, 2-week old Evan.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, with all my love.

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