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

Tomorrow night is opening night. I am certain I can speak for all of the cast of "Hinsdale Unmasked" - the 2022 Community Revue - when I say we can't wait to perform for an audience... — Updated 3/2/2022

I first discovered Charles Mackesy in November 2020 when CBS Sunday Morning was doing a piece on him and his book, "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse." We were enjoying our... — Updated 2/23/2022

I have been so inspired by the athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Here are a few of my favorites: • Colby Stevenson, the silver medalist in the men's big... — Updated 2/17/2022

On Valentine’s Day, most people are thinking about romantic love. I always think about Valentine’s Day my sophomore year in college. My boyfriend made me a homemade card and ask... — Updated 2/10/2022

Growing up, I didn't know a soul who was adopted. As an adult, I find the opposite is true. Adopted people are everywhere. At a 2020 Community Revue cast party, I learned that two o... — Updated 2/2/2022

While editing Lisa Seplak's column (facing page) and checking whether "Gen Zers" requires any punctuation (it does not), I stumbled upon some interesting facts about Generation Z.... — Updated 1/26/2022

I've spent a lot of time thinking about 2021 lately. It's not because I'm stuck in the past. Like many of you, I was ready for a new year (and the hope that it would be our last wit... — Updated 1/19/2022

I blame my timing. I didn't finish my list of "21 for '21" nonresolutions until February of last year. Had I had the month of January to work on them ... Of course, when I wrote... — Updated 1/5/2022

In three days I will be the mother of a teenage girl. While I’ve had 13 years to prepare for this moment, I still find it taking me by surprise. Each December as Ainsley has... — Updated 12/29/2021

My Christmas card this year is an homage to Christmases past, with a collage of my favorite shots of Ainsley visiting Santa over the years. I’ve been thinking a lot about... — Updated 12/15/2021

After covering Hinsdale school districts for almost 30 years, I didn't realize how exciting the job of superintendent is until last week. "It is really, really, really, really fun... — Updated 12/8/2021