I have always been a little jealous of people who have intricate, creative, and homemade Halloween costumes. Maybe it’s because as a kid, I frequently had the plastic costumes you would wear over your clothes with a plastic mask pressed…
Last week’s Treasurer’s Note unleashed a lot of pride in Illinois’ history of innovations, and readers were quick to let me know about their favorites. Several of them, I was aware of. A few of…
I distinctly remember the fear I felt when my aunt and uncle dropped me off on Yale’s campus 35 years ago this fall. I had never visited the school and didn’t know anyone. As I met people, I realized there weren’t…
I choose to remain a Midwesterner for many reasons, but one of them is that I really appreciate having four seasons. That doesn’t mean that I like all four seasons equally. In Illinois, spring holds the promise of warming days.…
When you have a problem, people often tell you to “sleep on it.” But what happens when an inability to sleep is the problem? The last few decades, I have suffered from frequent bouts of insomnia. Like many people who…
Our twins have always loved going to the park: playing on the jungle gym, swinging, or swishing down slides. Recently, they have found an open path where they love running races. They will race each other, Mom, or…
This summer, I was awakened by a tremendous storm in the middle of the night. My first thought was how much I don’t like the rain. I didn’t always feel this way. As a kid, I loved playing in the…