Mary Novaria

My friend Marj posted a Facebook pic on Easter morning of her adorable daughter dressed up in a lovely, pink Easter dress. This sweet little girl was also wearing white gloves, which really took me back. They were a staple growing up. No special occasion church outfit was complete without white gloves and black patent leather Mary Janes worn with lace-trimmed anklets. One time my parents were out of town and my grandmother had come all the way from New England to stay with us. She didn’t drive so my mom had arranged for some friends to pick us up and take us all the church on Sunday. For Grammy, it would have been unthinkable to miss Sunday Mass. I thought I was all ready for church that morning when my grandmother asked me where my white gloves were. Shrug. I probably hadn’t worn them since the past Easter or Christmas or maybe even as far back as my first Holy Communion. But Grammy insisted. I riffled through my underwear drawer in search of gloves and couldn’...

I’m challenged. Not sure what got into me, but I agreed to participate in not just one, but two separate challenges that have the potential to be very good for me. You should know that I don’t ordinarily go in for these things. First of all, I’m not much of a joiner. I’ve quit piano lessons, the Girl Scouts and the Junior League. Second of all, I don’t like to set myself up to fail. And by fail, I mean not finish. You see, I don’t always finish things--from diets, to decorating projects, to books I should read but can’t get through. (I know, it’s not good to should all over yourself.) Not finishing may have started back in my junior year of high school when I couldn’t get through Gulliver’s Travels . I also quit going to gym class so I could sit in the library mooning at a senior basketball player who barely knew I existed. Not me. I wish my hair were that long. So what am I thinking taking on two challenges, one for three weeks and another for ...