The Hinsdalean - Community journalism the way it was meant to be

I wrote a column once about the cost of raising kids and got an estimate from my financial planner on the price tag for four years of college starting in 2027, the year Ainsley... — Updated 9/21/2022

"Right now, it's like this." I was introduced to this phrase earlier this week while listening to one of the Teacher Talks on the Ten Percent Happier app. "Duh," you might be... — Updated 9/14/2022

I hope all of you love reading the work of our contributing columnists as much as I do. You’ve seen some different — but familiar — faces this summer as former contributors... — Updated 9/7/2022

Despite the appearance of pumpkin spice coffee and baking mixes in the grocery store and the start of "meteorological fall" today, I continue to mark the beginning of my favorite... — Updated 8/31/2022

I still remember the outfit Ainsley wore the first day of kindergarten - a navy short-sleeved T-shirt dress with fuchsia and yellow trim. I bought it for her weeks before school... — Updated 8/24/2022

If you are a woman of a certain age, perhaps you've seen this Facebook post. "To all my female friends from 40 years and up ... most of us are going through the next phase of our... — Updated 8/17/2022

We concluded what I have dubbed “Summer of The Beatles: Part 1” (Paul McCartney concert, two American English performances, one by the Beatelles) with a trip to the Rock and... — Updated 8/10/2022

Typing up obituaries was part of my very first reporting gig in 1989. The way things were structured at the time, the new reporter in The Doings newsroom inherited the... — Updated 8/3/2022

Working remote is nothing new. I've done it while I've been sick, while my husband had COVID and the first two years my daughter went to sleep-away camp in Holland, Mich. But I've... — Updated 7/27/2022

Signs provide us with all kinds of information. "Slow, children playing" lets us know kids reside on a particular block. (Since kids live on many blocks that don't have such signs,... — Updated 7/20/2022

Sarah was about four months pregnant when she received news no mother ever wants to hear. She was told her baby had triploidy and would not survive. “She had an underdeveloped... — Updated 7/13/2022

Writing an opinion column is often a challenging thing to do, especially when events leave you speechless. I was standing in front of the office Monday, just after the final entry... — Updated 7/6/2022

One of my favorite tasks at work is to read the submission from our contributing columnist each week. Our writers this past year were Bill Barre, John Bourjaily, Bret Conway, Kelly... — Updated 6/22/2022

While planning our July 1993 wedding, stressed by my full-time graduate studies and Dan's full-time job and living in two different cities and juggling family input, we briefly... — Updated 6/8/2022

Maybe it's the final episodes of "This is Us" that has me thinking about the different landscapes, if you will, life offers us. Or it might be the fact that the things I thought... — Updated 6/1/2022

I'm often impressed by the young people I interview, whether they're elementary school students moderating a presentation by a NASA engineer or high school athletes recommended by... — Updated 5/18/2022

Little did I know when I was looking for a job in the spring of 1988 that one day I would write about an event that had thwarted those efforts. Thirty-four years ago last week, on... — Updated 5/11/2022

Around Mother’s Day, it seems reporters like to ask folks about the most important things they learned from their mothers. One day, maybe such a question will be posed to an... — Updated 5/4/2022

May, the fifth month of the year, is named after Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility, spring and growth. Its attributes have been noted by a variety of poets over the years. Like... — Updated 4/27/2022

The first time I saw the film "Shakespeare in Love," I was fascinated by the inaugural performance of "Romeo and Juliet" at the fictional Rose Theatre. The audience knows Juliet... — Updated 4/20/2022

The alarm went off at 4 a.m. I hadn’t slept all that well in the AC Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, but I woke up quickly. We needed to get the 4:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport for... — Updated 4/13/2022

Almost four years ago I wrote a column detailing how a trip about Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas - at that time the largest cruise ship ever built - was not my cup of tea. "... — Updated 4/6/2022

Thirty-one years ago on a Thursday afternoon in late March, I finished my English senior seminar essay (with about 30 seconds to spare before the 4 p.m. deadline), walked back to... — Updated 3/30/2022

I celebrated my 55th birthday on Monday. I remember distinctly when my mom turned 55. At that time, drivers were not allowed to travel 65 mph on the highway, and we joked how she... — Updated 3/23/2022

We stood in the green room Saturday night before our final performance of "Hinsdale Unmasked" and talked about all that's happened since our last Community Revue in 2020. We've... — Updated 3/16/2022