Jane Wilson's Blog
RSS
Feb.18.2013
Blonde.
My dad, who was quite hard of hearing, yelled in the middle of a crowd of people who were conversing in whispering voices, "You die your hair!
"No," I replied. "Rosie dies my hair."
I've been grey for decades. Picking on widows and orphans and defending misogynists in...
Continue Reading »
10 comments
Feb.12.2013
When I was 15, I spent the summer in Finland. Reindeer moss, Karelian pies and crayfish; herring for breakfast. It's been a long time since I've immersed myself in these memories.
My daughter knows little about the life I lived before I married her father. That wasn't by...
Continue Reading »
10 comments
Feb.11.2013
The only suitcase that survived my daughter's undergraduate years has taken a turn for the worse.
A friend, who knew I'd had a tough week, "propositioned" me at 11:00 p.m. Friday night.
"Meet me at 7:30 a.m., tomorrow."
I piled my clothes into my suitcase, climbed into bed...
Continue Reading »
4 comments
Feb.11.2013
My daughter seemed to be shrinking. I could hear her thoughts as clearly as if she'd said them out loud.
Mom, I didn't think.
A head taller than all but a few of the boys in her class and so bright I'd received a telephone call from the principal several weeks...
Continue Reading »
2 comments
Feb.07.2013
My cell phone rang five minutes after I'd left my daughter's school. It was the assistant principal.
Uh oh.
After a brief conversation, I put down the phone.
"Mom, I forgot to tell you."
"Go on," I said.
"My friend brought a birthday gift to school. A boy grabbed it from her...
Continue Reading »
5 comments
Feb.04.2013
"You went to Iceland in February? Why on earth would you go there at that time of year?"
My brother would have answered, "I've always wanted to try fresh puffin and whale." My dad would have replied, "It's the cheapest time to go."
I was 45 years old and I'd never seen...
Continue Reading »
4 comments
Feb.02.2013
After my most recent cancer scare, upon learning the biopsies revealed no malignancy, I experienced a moment of ebullient relief. I hadn't wanted to spoil my daughter's Christmas vacation, so I didn't tell her about the procedures until after I'd learned the good news.
I couldn't share...
Continue Reading »
9 comments
Jan.31.2013
If I told you my favorite foods are liver and brussels sprouts, you might wonder about the mother who raised me and question how I survived to adulthood. If you knew her, you'd understand.
If I told you I smoked Gauloise cigarettes in my youth and colored my hair with henna, you'd accept that...
Continue Reading »
13 comments
Jan.28.2013
When my daughter was nine or ten, while her father and I were in the midst of a divorce, she gave me a small blank book as a Mother's Day gift.
"Mom, I want you to write in this every day," she said, solemnly.
I found it the other day, and opened it. There was a jagged edge of paper...
Continue Reading »
8 comments
Jan.27.2013
"Do Unto Others"
Two days ago, I found three cans of peanuts and a $20 gift certificate from McDonald's in the snow behind my back door. Phone service here is erratic and mine had been out. When it was restored, I found a voicemail from a former neighbor.
"Jane, I'm on your street....
Continue Reading »
2 comments
Jan.26.2013
WARNING: Content may not be suitable for vegetarians or those with weak stomachs.
Peanut butter sandwiches
Mom explained that "during the War," her family received peanut butter from the government, which had separated into a hard glob, topped by a thick layer of yellow oil. No matter how...
Continue Reading »
9 comments
Jan.25.2013
"Paris smells"
Our room was tiny, but thankfully tidier than the stairwell. Two single beds were pushed together, leaving approximately six inches on either side. A clothes rod was attached to the wall just inside the door and a...
Continue Reading »
5 comments
Jan.25.2013
“Don’t lose her”
The summer before I started 6th grade, a glossy brochure describing a three-week European vacation arrived in the mail. Mom picked it up and turned the pages. “Wouldn’t this be a wonderful...
Continue Reading »
9 comments
Jan.22.2013
The next installment of "We'll always have Paris" will be posted shortly.
It snowed all day, yesterday. As I unlocked my car, I noticed a woman waving at me from a van. "I'm out of gas," she said. "Can you drive me to the nearest gas station?"
"Of course," I said.
She...
Continue Reading »
10 comments
Jan.21.2013
"The Adventures Begin"
Almost an hour later, I gently awakened my sleeping daughter as the train approached the platform. The only information I had was the hotel's name and street address. We walked several blocks, suitcases in tow, following the city map and street signs...
Continue Reading »
5 comments
Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.
”
—Mark Twain
About Jane
I am an attorney and mediator in a small community in Southwestern Michigan. I have been a professor at two law schools as well as a community college and currently substitute, when possible, in the public schools.
Connections
Jane is a fan of
