By Esther C. Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen, February 14, 2008 “Four, three . . .” the crowd screamed. “Wait!” I yelled. “Now? Is it now?” I danced around like a maniac. “I didn’t hear ten! Who started counting? So it’s now?” “TWO!” The crowd surged around me. “ONE!”…
Category: The Baird Facts
Time for a dog of our own?
By Esther Baird First published in the Beverly Citizen Jan 30, 2008, Both my husband and I come from dog families. As growing children we experienced all those great doggy benefits: Exercise, times outdoors, and the tried-and-true responsibility of caring for a living creature. But now we have two young children, and we’re good on those fronts….
Sledding not all it’s cracked up to be
By Esther Baird First published in the Beverly Citizen Jan 15, 2008 Today it’s sunny and warm. Tomorrow it’s supposed to snow “heavily” — up to 14 inches. Great. The snow pack in front of our house was finally starting to melt and we’d just stopped tracking rock salt through the foyer. All that sunshine…
Some Christmas Photo Fun
By Esther Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen Dec 12, 2007 Our Christmas decorations went up the day after Thanksgiving. We wrapped our house in garland and lights and put our tree in the front window where it shimmers and twinkles. Our small nativity set is under a poinsettia, and while one of the…
Moms Chicken Out on the Dinner Question
By Esther Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen Nov 28, 2007 “Esther, look at this!” my friend hissed at me. She held up a bag of what looked to be cubed chicken. “Looks like cubed chicken,” I stated and took a sip of my wine. She gestured down at a perfectly formed chicken potpie…
Education Environment Proves Contagious
By Esther Baird First published in the Beverly Citizen, Oct 03, 2007 I was lying in chavasana pose at my yoga class. It’s the final, climatic pose where we lie on our backs, in the dark, for five minutes of official, class-mandated, peace. Our instructor spoke in a low, calm voice. ”Breath in, and breathe out. It’s just you…
All Abuzz on Prospect Hill
By Esther C. Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen Sep 19, 2007 Well we’re all abuzz up here on Prospect Hill. Literally. You see a colony of yellow jackets has taken up residence inside the black box suspended on the wires, which hang off the telephone pole outside our house. As a child, there…
These Shoes Not Just a Croc
By Esther Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen, Sep 05, 2007 My babysitter walked into the house. She always comes bearing artsy projects for my eldest daughter, but I couldn’t be bothered with what was in her arms. I was blinded by the bright flamingo-pink glare coming from her shoes. “Just be honest. Your shoes…
Learning to Take Life One Step At A Time
By Esther Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen, Aug 22, 2007 Recently my insurance company sent me a letter inviting me to participate in a walking program. If I joined, they’d send me a pedometer and give me access to a Web site where I could log my steps. They explained that as my insurance…
A Bridesmaid Dress and the Tale of the Tape
By Esther Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen, Aug 08, 2007 Bridesmaid dresses. Any readers still out there? I know if I read that opening I’d run screaming. I’m something of an expert in the subject since I’ve been a bridesmaid a few trillion times. At one point I had four, f-o-u-r, lavender bridesmaid gowns….