I remember the moment my husband and I decided on a name for our first child. I wish I could tell you that the clouds parted and the sun shone on my belly as the universe accepted the name for its new inhabitant. Names are big deals, after all. The truth is, we were driving […]
There’s an old saying: “A sweater is what you put on when your mother is cold.” I’d like to add that it’s also what you put on when your mother fears judgment from fellow parents at the bus stop for possibly allowing her child to go slightly underdressed. My own mother forced me to wear […]
Dahlia Lithwick didn’t hold out much hope for the injured baby bird her family found last spring. “We put it in a box and were feeding it worms from our compost heap, trying to keep him alive as best we could,” she said. After a lengthy Facebook back-and-forth, it was decided that “Chirpy’s” best chance […]
As every parent knows, a bored child is a menace to herself and others. Lacking positive ways of focusing her attention, my toddler, for example, will use her own body in experiments designed to discover if there are any loopholes in the laws of gravity. Keeping children entertained during the winter months presents special challenges, […]
The best way to take in a winter wonderland? By barreling down a snow-covered hill so fast you feel like you’re flying. Grab your sled (or, go old school—a trashcan lid’ll do!) and hit these mini-slopes around Charlottesville. O Hill See if you can get a student to swipe you a cafeteria tray before taking […]
The day McDonald’s added apple slices to the Happy Meal was the day any lingering denial about America’s obesity epidemic died. Houston, we get it. We have a Big Mac problem. Our First Lady plants gardens and dances the “Dougie” with middle school students, and Cookie Monster now teaches our kids that cookies are a […]
It’s been almost a year since Lucy the goat came to live with 8-year-old Emma van der Linde. Lucy wasn’t even 24 hours old when she arrived—and she was very sick. But a nearby farmer knew the van der Linde’s “were suckers for any animal in need, so they contacted us,” said Emma’s mother, Erin. […]
It’s no secret that Charlottesville loves the written word. The home of the Festival of the Book, local treasures like Dedalus Books, and ongoing workshops and classes at WriterHouse, this town is the place to be for writers and readers of all ages. You might recognize some of the big local names (John Grisham, anybody?) […]
Picture a beautiful rural setting with mountain views. Add some of our area’s finest wineries and some interesting historic sites and the result could very well be Orange County. Orange got its start in 1734 when settlers made it a legal entity, separating it from what was then Spotsylvania County and naming it for England’s […]
When fall came, Grandmother used to take down the lace curtains that drifted in the breeze from her oscillating fan when the summer breezes failed. In their place, she brought the heavy winter drapes out of storage and hung them once again to deflect winter drafts. The bright floral slipcover came off the sofa, revealing […]