“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller, on school truancy “They’re giving you time off for good behavior?” – A former colleague, upon learning of my plans A sabbatical. Three weeks off, and then a week away at a work-sponsored conference/retreat.Continue reading “In Gratitude for My Sabbatical”
Author Archives: aszyper
Paging Heshi Yu
Dear Heshi Yu, I am a fan of your art. I would like to say I am a collector, but I have only one piece so far. It is this painting, which I picked up for a fair price at a mid century design consignment shop in a suburb of Philadelphia. The shop did notContinue reading “Paging Heshi Yu”
Sweet & Sour Summer Scrapbook
It was the summer of Charlottesville. Of the steady continuation of political madness. Of spending lots of money and yet somehow not going anywhere interesting. Of piled up work deadlines in a badly understaffed office. Of my best friend moving to a different hemisphere. Of family obligations. Of other people traveling. Of sheetcaking and weightContinue reading “Sweet & Sour Summer Scrapbook”
Lessons from Mt. Airy Baseball
While Mt. Airy is known for its racial diversity, 13 years of living there produced very few cross-race friendships. Tribes hang together and like attracts like. Except in Mt. Airy baseball, which is the most racially integrated experiences we’ve had in our neighborhood. Teams transcend race, economics and zip codes. This is the deepest diversityContinue reading “Lessons from Mt. Airy Baseball”
Planet Mrs.
There are as many differences between urban and suburban culture as there are varieties of each. Endless ways to experience city living, and many varieties of suburban culture, each with its own norms. Around here, that norm includes calling adults Mr. and Mrs. I tell outsiders I live on Planet Mrs. I try to conform, to askContinue reading “Planet Mrs.”
Uprising, Part I: Washington
The last two weeks (the first of the Trump administration) have been like dog years, a swift and startling onslaught of executive orders attacking all that is dear to us. I started this post in the heady afterglow of the Women’s March on Washington. I still feel the buzz of it and am heartened atContinue reading “Uprising, Part I: Washington”
Entertaining Parents
“When are the first customers arriving?!” Robin’s question came right on time, at noon. “Honey, they’re guests, not customers. And no one shows up at the beginning. People are shy about being the first ones here.” And so began the litany of questions. An avalanche of chicken nuggets slid from the oven. A dozen peopleContinue reading “Entertaining Parents”
6 Words I Despise
2016, you’re only half over, yet your verbiage is already making me weary. So well ahead of the year-end glut of vocabulary lists and before Webster crowns its Word of the Year, I’ll submit my own list. To be fair, these are not words that have emerged this year. They have been around, growing slowly,Continue reading “6 Words I Despise”
Summer Camp for Grownups
Grand Camp is the best kept secret of parenting, if you have engaged and bodily able parents like I do. A remote location like Pittsburgh helps. Robin is at sleep-away camp this week, spending 12 days with my parents, bouncing between their households and visiting the driving range, baseball games, amusement parks and the pool.Continue reading “Summer Camp for Grownups”
Domestication
We retreat to the mountains for Memorial Day, our Prius silently easing into a parking spot at the mountainside timeshare condo. We have to shoo away the deer as we unload. We all have our roles to play. It happens gradually. We get comfortable in our job. The mortgage kicks in. A couple extra pounds.Continue reading “Domestication”
