August 2020 - Koenig

27 08 '20

Like Mother, Like Daughter

“Like mother, like daughter” she said in response to my daughter reporting I took her to a doctor to inspect a dime-sized black spot on her thigh that after a week was not resolving. When my distressed daughter relayed this to me, I asked for the context. “I don’t know mom! Why does she ever…

25 08 '20

Private Education Expenses

We know there is stress and confusion regarding the start of school this year for families in Nebraska. What may be adding stress to some divorced parents is the decision to send their children to public school or whether to enroll them in private school depending upon each schools’ coronavirus precaution and procedures. The Nebraska…

21 08 '20

Choosing the Fires

“Don’t look back,” he said as we parted. For a decade after a divorce I’d been goodbye-ing my children. But this time, instead a farewell at his father’s front door, I left my youngest on a lawn thousand miles away from home. He was 15. Introverted and incredibly intelligent, he was too smart for high schools and I wasn’t smart enough for home school. Instead of starting his sophomore year with his classmates, he entered his freshman year at college. He stood alone under a sunny…

14 08 '20

Privileged Listening

“Fifteen minutes is a long time,” she said, the 4th of July sun beating down on her. I was shocked. According to this straight A, double major college student, many in her generation found mere minutes of waiting a barrier to registering to vote. It was hot on the rooftop. I felt my rising blood…

07 08 '20

Defending Eyebrows

“Too dark of eyebrows. Too dark accentuates under eye and wrinkles. Use a wand for pink highlight in inner tear duct.” My friend of 40 years gives me helpful advice. For as long as I can remember she’s shared on everything from which type of Miracle-Gro to use in my window boxes to why Gevalia coffee was an essential morning brew. She is a great researcher with as much life experience than…

06 08 '20

Back to School: Corona-Style

I just turned it off one day. It was too much. I could no longer consume, react, and mourn the rancorous dissension filling up my social media feeds and nightly newscasts. To mask or not to mask, to reopen restaurants and bars or not, to social distance or stay quarantined – it was all taking…