Recent Essays
-
(For Now) I Raise Tomatoes Instead of Grandchildren.… How I Find Joy in My Garden
https://www.aarpethel.com/issue-223-05-28-25/ My great-grandmother used to say, “Children are your money in the bank, but grandchildren are your interest.” I don’t have grandchildren yet, so I’ve channeled my interest into my garden. Growing up, my dad kept a vegetable garden on the side of our pink-shingled split-level house in New Jersey, where he’d stake tomato vines, pick green beans for dinner, and tie up dried golden corn stalks into bundles for Halloween. I’d help out occasionally, mainly picking ripe red strawberries, but the slimy slugs that hid in the leaves made me avoid the garden…
-
Thrilled to be published in Metropolitan Diary!
SCROLL TO THE LAST STORY or READ BELOW THE LINK
-
For A Happier 2023 Try NOT Doing These Ten Things
It’s nearly February, I still haven’t made any resolutions and Dry January ended up soaking wet. I’m nearly halfway through my sixties, and I am pretty stuck in my ways. It’s the middle of winter … who needs the stress of making changes? As women we are barraged with advice about aging, diet, exercise, beauty and health and I already know what I should be doing. That doesn’t mean I want to do it all. Social media is an especially dangerous place with ads and celebs, influencers and filters. With each swipe and…
-
Moving Revealed my Basket Addiction!
Moving out of our family home unearthed many treasures, and also my addiction to baskets! Here’s a piece formerly published in NextAvenue I was packing up the house where I’d raised a family for 27 years when I realized I had a problem. Surrounded by boxes and bubble wrap, I was in the thickets of the herculean task of sorting through years of furniture, papers, photo albums, toys and trophies. There were spices from 2010, stained baby clothes from the 1990s, even the pastel floral Slumber sleeping bag I won on the TV…
-
Done With Long Jewish Goodbyes? Here Are 5 Exit Strategies. – Kveller
 Read on www.kveller.com/done-with-long-jewish-goodbyes-here-are-5-exit-strategies/ OR READ HERE: While binge watching “Schitt’s Creek” during the long months of quarantine, I saw an episode where Moira (Catherine O’Hara) is at a funeral and says to her husband, Johnny (Eugene Levy), “Let’s pilfer a few sandwiches and make a gracious French Exit.” Maybe I live under a rock, but I had never heard this phrase. So I Googled it, and I learned from Wikipedia that it refers to guests who make a quick departure without the courtesy of saying shalom, ciao or sayonara. It’s also…
-
LOSING MY SENSES TO COVID KNOCKED THE SENSE BACK INTO ME | by Susan Kravet | Apr, 2021 | Medium
When I lost my sense of smell after coming down with Coronavirus last March, I was distressed. That strange symptom of anosmia slowly improved, but another sensory deficit took it’s place. The year… — Read on medium.com/@susankravet/losing-my-senses-to-covid-knocked-the-sense-back-into-me-f26825449654
-
COVID…With a Chance of Meatballs
Last February, my pantry was pristine and my near empty fridge looked like the “after” on Netflix’s The Home Edit. Pellegrino bottles were perfectly aligned with labels facing forwards, a few coconut yogurts sat in a row next to a carton of eggs, the crisper drawer held lemons and limes for my cocktails, and the door was stuffed with assorted condiments. I had enjoyed the culinary arts since my days as a single gal in NYC, but after 20 years of rotating the same 10 dishes for dinner for my growing boys, (reserving…
-
COVID 19 GAVE ME DANCE FEVER
At least some good came out of this pandemic. Here’s my latest in Kveller Quarantine Finally Gave Me the Confidence to Dance Blame it on American Bandstand, Dance Party USA,and even MTV. The cool kids, hip outfits, and upbeat hits on these shows turned me into a dance show addict since I was a teen. I even had my 15 seconds of fame dancing on a platform on Wonderama, in a paisley mini. But now, as I watch shows like Dancing with the Stars, World of Dance, and America’s Got Talent, I feel incredibly disappointed that this American has got NO talent when it comes…
-
Covid-19 is Making My Sons Mensches
Here is my latest essay for Kveller This Yiddish Word Describes How My Sons Have Changed During Coronavirus My cell phone rang and I saw a pic of my eldest son appear on the screen. I resisted the urge to yell, “WHAT’S WRONG!?” and answered with an apprehensive, “Hi?”. “Mom, do I need a bench scraper?” he asked. I checked again to see if it was a wrong number. This one rarely called unless it was a medical emergency and besides, it was 8 a.m. — hours before the time he normally wakes on a…
