I’m a strong, independent, outspoken woman today because of—and despite—the lessons I learned from my old-fashioned father. I’m 34 years old and no one has ever just walked up to me and said “Hey, did you go visit your dad on Father’s day?” until June 16, the day after Father’s day this year. I was at […]
Parents can not always control what happens to their kids, but they can help them cope. When my daughter came out of my body and was placed on my chest, bloody and blue, ears stuck to her cone-shaped head, eyes that were open but saw nothing, I whispered something to her. Tired, sore, and on […]
Going from being a single mother making all the decisions in her daughter’s life to sharing a home with her boyfriend and his son wasn’t easy, but Maria Peña is figuring out every day how to make a blended family work. “What the hell was I thinking when I decided to raise my child with […]
The terms “boyfriend/girlfriend” hardly encompass what Maria Peña and her partner, Matt, are to each other, but they are not legally married. And she’s tired of having to explain why—when they are as committed to each other and each other’s children as any married couple could be. “How do you refer to each other?” It […]
