Jane Roper's Blog, page 15

After

A couple of weeks ago I took the girls to the poster decorating party for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge partner program — the program through which Clio’s ass-kicking partner runner Katelin is running her fourth marathon this year to raise money for cancer research. (Help her reach her goal!) We’ve gone to the poster party the... Read the Rest »

Having a kid with cancer is enough to worry about.

On and off over the years, I’ve volunteered as a writer for an organization called Small Can Be Big that helps connect individual families in crisis with short-term funding, often for things like rent or repairs. I hadn’t done a story for a while, but just last week I offered to do one and totally by... Read the Rest »

Four feet and counting

No, that title doesn’t refer to the amount of snow we’ve gotten in Boston in the past month. (That would be seven feet and counting.) It’s about something far cheerier and that — bonus! — doesn’t cripple major public transportation systems. Not that I know of, anyway. So. Last week was February vacation (because we totally needed... Read the Rest »

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Entries, second-grader style.

I know, I know. My blog is becoming derelict. With Clio’s treatment done (she finished her last dose of Bactrim — an antibiotic that provided some extra coverage while her immune system was rebuilding — last week, so she’s officially off ALL meds!) I haven’t had the pressing urge. And I’m trying to use all... Read the Rest »

Do you see what I see?

“I look weird.” Not me, that is. (I just look like I have a budding spare tire, thanks to way too much holiday food and drink — on the heels of way too much Halloween candy stolen from my children, and the fact that between illness and work and weather, I haven’t been able to... Read the Rest »

Why a Writing Residency Rocks

So, I just got back from spending a week at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a residency for writers, artist and composers in Virginia. I had a room, a studio, and nothing but time to write, read and take the occasional walk or run in beautiful rural surroundings. At meals (which I didn’t have to cook!... Read the Rest »

Adrift

I’ve been in a bit of a funk over the past couple of months. Not depressed, mind you. (Although sometimes I feel like I’m on the edge of it.) Just…something. I keep reminding myself that it makes sense. We just moved, which is a big adjustment. I love our new house (see exhibit A, fireplace,... Read the Rest »

The new old Clio

I took the girls to get haircuts this past Sunday morning. That “s” on “girls” is a very big deal, as Clio hasn’t had a haircut in over two years — not counting the one where we buzzed off what was left of her rapidly thinning hair six months into her treatment. She took the whole... Read the Rest »

Out of nowhere.

So, the other day I was feeling sort of disoriented and disconnected,  in our quiet and lovely little neighborhood, here in this new town. As much as I love our house, and the peace and quiet, and the feng shui of being up at the top of a hill (a close second to being adjacent to a body of water), it’s... Read the Rest »

Out, Damned Port!

Hi there. It’s been a loooong time since I posted. The fact is, I’m feeling a little bit adrift as to what I want to blog about these days, and how I want to use this space now that the most intense and perilous  phase of our family’s cancer journey crappy little boat trip has come to... Read the Rest »