Posts by Catherine:
Apples dipped in honey, what’s not to like?
The holiest days of the year are approaching and you know what that means! Every year before Rosh Hashanah, synagogues send tickets to members for High Holy Day services. Non-members in the Tampa Bay area usually pay around $200.
That’s right.
Local Jews pay that kind of money for tickets to a show that doesn’t involve Neil Diamond or a free buffet.
Included is usually a letter that lays out the rules and regulations for attending such services. Below please find the letter I received with my additions in bold.
Bold.
Get it?
Explaining 9/11 to kids
Back when my boys were six years old. Parents prepare for certain questions when their children begin elementary school. My husband and I were no different, role-playing routines for the inevitable “Where do babies come from?” and “Who is this Santa character?” However, nothing prepared me for last week’s inquiry. “Mommy, do you know what [...]
Tween this
When I first heard the term, I thought, “What the hell is a tween?” Then someone explained that tweens are kids who find themselves in that crazy stage between sippy cups and wine coolers, cartoons on Saturday mornings and unprotected sex on Saturday nights. Back in the dark ages of the early 1980s, when I [...]
This microwave may or may not be safe – anyone got a canary?
Approximately two weeks ago, the scene in our kitchen was a lot like scenes in any other kitchen where three generations try to find something to eat without killing each other. In front of the microwave, my kids lined up with their oatmeal, behind Husband with his coffee, behind Mom with her tea, and behind [...]
Can’t you read the signs?
I’m a big believer in analysis. Life doesn’t always come at us in obvious ways; most of the time we have to be able to see messages from beyond in the subtlety of signs. It isn’t easy. When I walk two blocks from the office, why do I get lost walking back? I am able [...]
Summer vacation is over – hold your applause, I still can’t hear myself think
In these parts, lazy days of summer have mercifully come to an end. Just a few days ago, as the weather grew ever more humid and children tried to make the last few hours of fun last and last, the rest of us came perilously close to court-ordered commitment hearings. Frustrated moms threatened to leave [...]
People say it’s hard to make friends as we get older. Nonsense. It might be harder to *like* people as we get older. I mean, everyone is so opinionated and there’s all the shouting.
We really should be able to make friends as easily at this age as we did when we were ten. For one thing, we know how to properly brush our teeth now. That alone makes talking to people a more pleasant activity. Every year, I manage to add to my ever-growing list of loved ones. [...]
Back-to-school: The most wonderful time of the year
At my children’s school, teachers are being asked to write a profile of themselves for the PTO newsletter. I was asked to submit questions so we might get to know them better. Here are a few of my ideas: Where did you go to school? What previous experience helped you prepare for brilliant children who [...]
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Hi dolls, I write a bi-weekly column in The Tampa Tribune called “View from the Hill.” If you are a regular reader of the print or online version, the good folks at TBO want to hear from you. Please consider taking this survey and a) clicking on “Love It” next to my column and b) [...]
BRB: How to enjoy and then scare off middle-aged men who flirt with you while your husband is asleep
Any forty-something wife and mother who tells you she doesn’t like occasional attention from men is a liar. A teeth whitening-strips wearing, grey-hair dyeing, water-aerobics attending liar. Women enjoy getting hit on, flirted with, and approached by other men. Period. End of story. Of course, there is the manner in which it’s done that makes [...]
Catherine Durkin Robinson
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she’s crafty
