“Are you ever going to call me back, I’ve left you three messages?” That is the refrain I’m hearing over and over again from my family and friends. Last year I turned 70, and the truth is, I’ve never worked so hard in my life. I’m pushing myself to the limit right now, am stressed to the Continue reading
Author: Iris Ruth Pastor
Are You Crazy?
It all begins with this couple: my husband’s parents, Herb and Hotche. This picture was taken shortly after Herb was discharged from the Army during the closing days of World War 2. Herb had witnessed the horrors of the concentration camps in Europe firsthand – being one of the initial units of troops to enter Continue reading
Rails – Revolution Against Me
It’s Me. I’m the Bully. I have never been a real empathic person. In third grade, I started picking on a tall, skinny, red-headed kid named Karen. To the delight of my more bashful friends, I would charge towards her, gleefully pull up her skirt, and then quickly run away – all the while shouting Continue reading
The Best Date in the World
On the right, clad in funky turquoise shoes, is my special friend, Tawny. The friend I met in first grade, long before boobs, braces and boyfriends. But she’s not the best date in the world. How could she be? We are both happily married. So she may not be the best date, but she is Continue reading
What Daughters-in-law Want Their Mothers-in-law to Know
Family unity and healthy interactions, who’s against that? Not many! Today’s column features 10 things daughters-in-law would like their mothers-in-law to know in order to maximize healthy relationships between them. COMMUNICATE: Tabitha advises that when a daughter-in-law asks a mother-in-law to do something, all parties should be clear on the parameters. For instance, Tabitha continues, Continue reading
Pinwheels, Not Pounds
I am not happy. Clothes are piled on the lone single bed in the spare bedroom. Some fairly new, but most years old. Bought with the mindset of investment dressing, they are good basic pieces that never go out of style and that round out a wardrobe. So what’s the problem? Condition? No. Style? No. Continue reading
The Luckiest Day Of My Life
I must admit that the Fourth of July holds a very special place in my heart, having nothing to do with the Declaration of Independence or The Stars and Stripes. It was a 4th of July week-end in 1975 that my high school held its 10th year reunion. In June 1975, after a year’s Continue reading
My Swinging Life
Not surprisingly, one of my earliest memories is of my father telling me something. “You’re run of the mill, Iris,” he would say. “Just run of the mill.” Maybe it was my first lesson in intuition, insight and savvy. I knew by the way he said it that what he actually meant was, “You’re special. Continue reading
Relax
I wrote this over 20 years ago. It’s even more true today. I wish I had a dime for every time I called up my mother to bitch about something and she responded with the refrain “Relax, at least everyone is healthy.” It’s about as irritating as hearing the phrase “This too shall pass” when Continue reading