It was a summer afternoon in 1992. I was spending the weekend at my grandparents, like I did most weekends between the ages of 7 and 12. I was in the Upstairs Back Bedroom, a spare bedroom with an unimaginative, formal name bestowed by my grandmother, watching TV when she called me to her bedside. The room was completely dark, despite the time of day. My grandmother rolled onto her right side, and I collapsed on the floor onto my knees, leaning my head on her mattress. She pe

I was having lunch with a new associate last summer and the natural subject of kids came up – his were off to college in the fall. I mentioned my daughter would be starting fourth grade that year, and without hesitation, I answered, "My husband and I adopted. She was 8 when she was placed in our home," to the, "How old are you?" question his furrowed eyebrows asked me. His response, "Bold move." I laughed away those two, four-letter words, but they've rented out a lot of spac