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Latest Columns by Maria Heck

October 17, 2009

The girls

Right in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month … I’ve been personally made aware. A few weeks ago – I noticed a lump, about the size of a pea, under my arm.

October 3, 2009

Cooked

When my mother recently passed away, I was absolutely floored by the compassion of friends and the amount of love and food brought to me during this paralyzing time.

September 19, 2009

The worm

We have a saying in this house when a situation turns completely around on its head: The Worm Turns.

September 5, 2009

Mosquitoes and warts

You know I love my little town, warts and all. The benefits, in my mind, far outweigh the negatives.

August 22, 2009

Back when I was there

The monumental day has arrived – we are depositing my diva/daughter at her new digs, firmly ensconced within the very high (and not easily visible by my high-powered binoculars) walls of Penn State University.

August 8, 2009

Attention deficit

It was a summer day like any other. It began with the usual in-fighting, this time over whose turn it was to scoop the outside poop.

July 25, 2009

Stale piece of bread

In preparation for sending my little princess off to college (26 more days), I was reviewing the whole financial scenario and a tree’s worth of paperwork.

July 11, 2009

Maria’s Summer Survival Guide

Oh my God in heaven, it’s here already!

June 27, 2009

Live & learn

Here we go.

June 13, 2009

Mom

I lost my mother this week. And not the way I used to lose her every Thursday at The Food Fair when I was five. I’ve really lost her. She’s gone and I will never be the same.

Latest Articles by Maria Heck

May 9, 2009

Guide to Mother’s Daze

My daughter repeatedly informs me she never intends to have children. How sad, I think. I feel like my real life did not begin until I became a mother. She insists that she can never imagine being in charge of a child and responsible for everything from brushing their teeth to doing what you must do with an infant suppository. She shakes her head dismissively when I tell her there is nothing, and I mean nothing, in this world that is a more difficult, but a more satisfying and monumental task than raising a child. To give her the bigger picture, in all its cinematic brilliance, I shared with her a few key points to being equipped for the best job she will ever have, with no lay-offs, kick-backs or sabbaticals. It’s a lofty gig, which requires intense preparation, like Moses prepared for splitting that sea in two. It’s just that hard and just that miraculous.