Category Archives: Lessons

     When I was 9, I got kicked out of Sunday School. We lived in Chula Vista and attended a conservative synagogue, and I guess it is more accurate to say I was asked to leave class and not return. Probably … Continue reading →

  When I was young, I never heard my parents swear. I never saw my mother read a book. I thought at first that’s just the way they were, but as I grew I learned that they were adjusting their … Continue reading →

  When I was around 10, I gave up thumb-sucking. My parents had tried to talk or trick me into forsaking the activity for as long as I could remember, but it was fear of peers that inspired me. I was … Continue reading →

  When I was 45 or so, I learned what “subtext” means. It was a lawyer who said it to me – “There’s no subtext” – on the phone, and from his context I gathered that he used the word … Continue reading →

     When I was 29 I became a consultant. I think I’d been practicing for some time, at least since high school, when I had friends instead of boyfriends and counseled them so much my mother called me Dear Abby. … Continue reading →

   When I was 23 I lived and worked in San Francisco, and I commuted on the Muni bus. I rode popular lines at popular times so I didn’t always get a seat. I’ll never forget the rainy Wednesday I … Continue reading →