Today is my oldest daughter Sarah’s 34th birthday. We went out to her new apartment in Sierra Madre for a birthday celebration. Her two sisters, Liz and Rachael, came plus their boyfriends, Ron and Ariel. Of course, Sarah’s husband, Gregorio, and her two kids, Luna and Nico, were there. Plus, Sarah’s nanny, Bri, and her…
Category: Writing
Movie Review: Love and Friendship
We just came back from seeing the film Love and Friendship, which is based on Jane Austen’s unpublished novella, Lady Susan. This movie has an unbelieveable critics’ rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 99% audience rating. (These numbers are the highest I’ve ever seen for a film.) Needless to say, I was curious…
Award-Winning Student Essay: To Hold a Hand
A student of mine, Lona Tehrani, wrote a superb college essay that deals with the transgender restroom issue that recently has gotten so much press. This essay won a regional Silver Key award from the Scholastic Artists and Writers contest, the oldest and most prestigious art and writing contest for youth in grades 7 –…
Listening to a Sex Therapist Deliver a Talk
I returned home from the orange grove in late afternoon just in time to jump back in the car and head over to the Brentwood Country Club where an adult student of mine was co-hosting a new speaker series called, “Ah-ha Moments.” This particular talk with from Dr. David Schnarch, a psychologist and sex therapist,…
Ramblings from the Orange Grove
It is 7 pm and I am sitting in our Airstream in Ojai. Ray is still out somewhere in the orange grove. Luna is not with us this week because she has been sick. (Nico is not quite ready to be away from mom long enough for us to keep him overnight.) Anyway, we are…
College Acceptance News for My Students
I am very happy to report that many of my students have heard from the colleges where they applied and are getting very positive results. Here are some of the students I’ve been working with and where they’ll be attending college in the fall: Lona – Attending Barnard College, New York; Accepted at UCLA; Boston…
One of Those Days
This has been one of those days. Up by 6 am to meet a student at 6:30 down in my den for 6 hours of work to finish her Senior Honors Thesis for her Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies. I have learned a lot about the history and current status of reproductive rights for women…
Postponing Mother’s Day and Dame Julian of Norwich
I’ve been thinking about what I might write about Mother’s Day all day today. My daughters and I are postponing our “official” Mother’s Day until next week, combining it with oldest daughter Sarah’s birthday. The reason? Primarily because youngest daughter Rachael has law school exams on Monday (tomorrow) and Wednesday of this week and clearly…
Unwinding at the Orange Grove
I have been in Ojai at our orange grove for the past two days with Ray and granddaughter Luna. We returned this evening, taking Luna home to be reunited with her mom, dad and 3 1/2 month old brother, Nico. I had the pleasure of doing absolutely nothing but tending to three-year-old Luna while we…
Luna with Us in Ojai
Luna is asleep beside me here in the Airstream as I write this. She had just five minutes ago said she didn’t want to go to bed yet so I suggested she sit with me on the couch. Alas, she was asleep three minutes later. We have had a busy day. Lots of playing games…
20 Minutes a Day 