Talking Turkey-day
Giving thanks for Thanksgiving Oddly enough, here in the UK there isn’t much interest in celebrating the American Pilgrims’ survival of …
Category Archives: Previously Published Work
Penis Envy or The Revenge of Your Sixth-Grade Science Teacher
Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.” ― Lao Tzu Obviously, old Lao Tsu was never a parent. …
A Mother’s Day (Cautionary) Fairy Tale
Once upon a time (and we’re talking LONG time), there was a poor Mom named CinderBarb, who married her academic-gypsy …
Pastblast: Valentine’s Day BC (Before Children) vs AD (After Delivery)
This is a repeat from Valentine’s Day past. Happy Valentine’s Day and wishing you much chocolate! In the years before …
The Twelve Days, Deconstructed
After some requests, I’m re-posting from last Christmas. This originally was a piece I wrote for the Wall St. Journal. They …
All I Want for Christmas Is…
(Another Blast from Barb’s past — originally published in Champaign Urbana News Gazette, December, 1991) During Christmas at my house, …
Holiday Email Letters: Time for Revenge
Have you received the traditional Christmas email from relatives and friends telling you how incredibly wonderful that past year has …
Parenting. This is nothing we were ever trained for.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Barb Taub, Weekly Column, Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Nov. 1989 My mother’s hair is getting pretty grey. As she …
Bat Woman
A couple of nights ago, I heard the cats get on their motorcycles in the middle of the night and start doing laps around the living room, with the dog running after them, barking that Mom was going to catch them and then they would really be in trouble.
Life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies
As proof of the continuing deterioration to be expected from advanced cases of parenthood, we decided it was time we acquired a puppy. Of course, before we got her we did careful research to determine the most intelligent and trainable breed for a family dog. Those who know how this technique has paid off for us in the past will not be surprised to learn that we became the proud owners of Natasha, a Scottish Border Collie who looked like Spuds McKenzie and boasted approximately two brain cells.
Barb Taub 