Almost a month ago, I had the profound privilege of being present for the labor and delivery of Sarah and Gregorio’s third child, my third grandchild, Lyla Gabriella Pacheco Beaty. With firstborn Luna, I was the very first person to see her little face when she was born and was able to cry out, “Oh,…
Happy Birthday, Rachael!
Today is Rachael’s birthday. She is 28 today. I am very happy to have this young woman in my life. She is quite a little jewel not just to me but to all who know and love her. We have a favorite story in our family about Rachael. When she was around 3, she had…
Flash Fiction: Hidden Benefits
I sink the trowel into the soft ground, digging down to sever the root of the offending dandelion. I can’t help but feel half-guilty removing these vivid yellow flowers from my brown lawn right in the middle of winter. Still, I know it’s a gift to have such an unseasonably warm February weekday to garden when most people have to…
Congratulations to My Students Who Are Regional Winners in the Scholastic Artists and Writers Contest
I am very pleased to announce that I have three writing students who have won awards in the Scholastic Artists and Writers contest, the oldest and most prestigious writing contest for youth in the United States. These regional winners competed with writers from many states for this highly coveted recognition. Nationally, this contest draws around…
The Mixed Blessings of California Rain
When Ray and I first moved to Los Angeles twenty-five years ago, we made fun of the TV weather coverage of rain. A reporter, decked out in a yellow slicker and matching boots, appeared on the television screen and spoke in cataclysmic terms about the threat of 1-2 inches of precipitation. Ray and I shook…
Happy 33rd Birthday, Liz!
Elizabeth Beaty, my middle daughter, is 33 years old today, the exact age I was when I had her. She and I went to a wedding last week together and this is a photo taken of us: Liz is smart, funny and opinionated. She is also devoted and dedicated to people who are lucky enough…
Hoping to Stave Off the Flu
Ray has been sick for the past several days with a high fever, deep chest cough and general flu symptoms. He is on the mend as of today with normal temperature (at least so far) and an occasional cough that is still deep, but far from the wrenching hack that he had been experiencing. I’m…
Moving Forward, One Student at a Time
We are back home in LA and today has been a student day for me. I worked all morning with one of my longstanding students, Elijah, who is now applying to law school. He and I go back to his high school days when I helped him with his English term papers. Since then, he’s…
Heading Back to LA
After an idyllic week up at the orange grove in Ojai, Ray and I are headed back to LA this evening. I have students all day tomorrow and then a wedding on Friday before more students on Saturday. Life is good. We are both rested and relaxed and looking forward to the adventures 2019 promises…
Fighting Fires
How will I remember 2018? Fighting fires… The Thomas fire circled around Ojai, CA and our orange grove in December of 2017 and the aftermath, which went well into early 2018, was soot and smoke and heartbreak for many who lost their homes. We were very lucky in that we only experienced soot and smoke….
20 Minutes a Day 