Blog2L2
- Baldessari May 18, 2012 Derek Bridges
- Rewind May 11, 2012 Derek Bridges
- Going in the Opposite Direction May 8, 2012 Derek Bridges
- Rope Man with Cigarette April 25, 2012 Derek Bridges
Being Southern
My daddy's people have lived in Amite County, Mississippi for over 200 years--before Mississippi even had statehood. I confirmed this over the past week as I have been researching genealogical records for my family tree. Of course, my childhood was steeped in this Southern history and tradition--both good and bad (i.e., grits for breakfast and "never trust a Yankee.").
Continue readingAll the Books I Fell Asleep Reading
I’ve been reading since I was four, or so they tell me. I can’t remember not reading. Words have always been my friends, and it didn’t take long for me to hop over Millie and the Cowboy (70s version of Dick and Jane) to Little House in the Big Woods.
Books provided delicious cover for me to hide in plain sight during difficult times. Family member: “Where’s Andrea?” Other family member: “Curled up in a knot, reading on her bed.” I would read until one propped arm fell asleep and I had to shift to the other.
But, in high school, I came to know “the reading list,” which contained books I would never pick for myself. Heck, I didn’t even know many of them existed–George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Herman Hesse’s Demian were not on my 14 year-old radar screen. While I ended up adoring the former, I didn’t finish the latter (and couldn’t even tell you the plot these many years later).
And so began my career as “the girl who loves… Continue reading
We were lucky
“Hearing other parents’ stories, I suppose we were lucky they didn’t lock him up in a closet or restrain him.” (from my Thursday post)
95 Reasons to Blog
My 12 year-old son, R.: “Why didn’t he just post them on his blog?”
I never thought I’d be one of those parents–the homeschooling kind. Before this year, I would always say, “My kids and I would drive each other crazy, it would never work, etc. etc. etc.” And that’s true for my 17 year-old daughter—she and I would never get past the idea of a good reading list (my idea: Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickinson, and Whitman. Her idea: can’t we just watch the movie version?). She is a social creature who thrives in her public magnet school.
But, my son—my son is from a different universe. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, he would rather be anywhere else than school. He once told me that he would love school—if he were the only student. That about sums it up for him. Other kids annoy him, and he can’t understand their social customs or cues—they are noisy, germy,… Continue reading