ARIEL WATERMAN

Oh, great. It’s déjà vu all over again. A new year has begun and we have all jumped on the resolution bandwagon like lemmings running aimlessly to their inevitable end at the edge of a cliff. I have long been one of those lemmings. The resolutions I made last January first? They rolled over like […]

Is it already December? I feel like I just finished boxing up the holiday decorations. Now I have to put them out again. That’s because I am big on traditions, especially during the holidays. Everyone has their own holiday family traditions. Some spring from religious rites and others from cultural customs. Some exist because generations […]

It has been a hell of a week. Our grandson, The Briteen, was trying out for soccer at his high school, participating in a week of scrimmages after school. But first, prospective candidates had to endure “Hell Week.” This involved a fitness endurance regimen every day at 6:30 in the morning, which meant that our […]

Normally I think of colons only when I write. For example: There, I used a colon, unlike a semi-colon; the comma-colon hybrid gives one pause. Outside of grammar, no one wants a semi-colon—the possible result of colon cancer! That brings me to my topic this week—colonoscopies. Now, I know what you’re all thinking: Eeewww! But […]

August has arrived and school is about to commence. So start your motors, moms and dads, and rev up your charge cards—we’re all going shopping! There’s school supplies to buy, of course, and the newest, coolest lunch box or backpack. That’s the easy stuff. Get ready to race to the sales for school clothes. I […]

Ah, summer! The time for frolic and fun in the sun. Best of all—no school! And if you’re a kid, that’s the best part of summer. Then there is the family vacation. You either love them or hate them. I have a certain nostalgia for family vacations. These meant spending time together, often in close […]

My husband, The Brit, and I have been living together since January 2006, marrying in March of that year. When two people of our generation forge a connubial relationship, they bring along lots of baggage, and boy, we each had more than our share! I don’t mean emotional baggage. I mean material baggage. You know—all […]

I’ve been sick. Really, really sick. I’m better now and can talk about it, but I could not reveal that I was sick because my mother reads my column. My siblings and I learned long ago not to let on we were sick lest it unleashed Mom’s alter-ego—Mega Mother Hen! When we were kids and […]

Last month I had a birthday, and I am now 63 years old. At this stage of my life, I have grown in many ways, leaving me with just one question. What the hell happened? Whoever said growing old is not for sissies wasn’t kidding. Only four autumns ago I would hop over to my […]

I like to start my mornings quietly, slowly warming up to the day ahead. Weekdays mean poking the bear, I mean waking our teenager so that he has ample time to perfect his hair for school. Weekends find me brewing tea and making toast and marmalade as my husband, the Brit, settles in for a […]

I love the weekends. I can sleep late, I don’t have to drive my husband, The Brit, to his various doctor appointments, or our teenager, The Briteen, to school or sports practices. I settle in on our electric recliner sofa, put my feet up, and savor my coffee while doing crossword and sudoku puzzles. That’s what […]

Boy, oh boy! January sure came in with a bang! The storm and the fury brought rain, floods, high winds, and high tides. And that was just in my neighborhood! Not far from here the mudslides and heavy snows are keeping the wildfires at bay. The only thing missing is an earthquake, followed by plagues […]