How We Roll

I kept the inevitable at bay for two years. I'm proud of that record. Polar ice might have melted more slowly thanks to my diligence. That's all over now; last weekend we bought our first car. Renate has been ready since our first Chicago winter, and I have stalled like a champ. Trouble started brewing …

Turf Wars

In the naive days of our marriage, Renate and I purchased two rugs simply because we thought they'd look nice in our apartment. This morning I carried the first rug to the curb. Thirty minutes later it was gone, sucked up into a world of scavengers who might live with cats but long ago accepted …

Losing Weight

I keep "things" for years. I still have a beer bottle cap that was given special meaning at a college party. I have insurance statements for a car I shed five years ago. I've got concert wristbands. Credit card statements. Baseball ticket stubs. Seashells. Grad school loan payment coupon booklets. Postcards. Props from high school …

Time to Make the Cookies

"I don't want to give cookies that look like they were made by a five-year-old," Renate warns early in our cookie-frosting expedition. I'm paying scant attention to the final appearance of my cookies, and it's exasperating. She spends five minutes on a snowman. "See?" She presents the smooth, unblemished result. "People don't care what they …