Even though it’s hard, much of the time, I feel like we’ve got this. I don’t need our family to fit into a traditional mold, because I never imagined that it would. My 2-year-old daughter E. started saying the word “doctor” in her tiny, super-soft voice, which makes every syllable sound like a compliment. She could […]
Some people make the annual pilgrimage back home even though they know their feelings will be ignored, their identities questioned, their experiences minimized. For those of you in this group, I offer an option: Don’t go. As the holidays approach, many people are making plans to visit family. Most everyone can expect some stress and […]
I can tell her what’s happened, but I can’t tell her why, because I don’t understand why, and I don’t know how we can possibly fix it. Every parent has to have that conversation with their child at some point. My daughter is only 2, but she already has questions. The longer I put it […]
I’m fat, and the fear of getting fat is no longer viable. I grew up in a fatphobic household — one that was created by my mother’s fear of getting and staying fat. Her fatphobia, often directed at me, was then reinforced by my brother, and unconsciously supported by my father. My parents were extremely […]
Hiding the truth about my diagnosis won’t convince my daughter that nothing is wrong, but it might make her hesitate to seek the support she needs. My daughter is almost 2, and it turns out that’s old enough to be worried about me. I cry often, especially when I’m in the throes of an anxiety […]
What does modeling healthy communication look like in the face of chaotic, hostile behavior? Yelling. Throwing things. Name-calling. Always on the brink of an explosion. The only thing that holds me back from calling my teenager’s behavior abuse is that they are my child. But who am I protecting by refusing to call abuse what […]
Always, that stench is there in that cursed house, as if the walls had absorbed it permanently, or as if he himself consumed so much of it that he’d become the very source of it. The first time it happens, I don’t say anything. Of course I don’t say anything; that’s just how it was […]
The main question I think we should be asking ourselves is this: “If I could find another way to deal with mommy anxiety, guilt, pressure, and monotony, would I try it?” The last place on earth you’d expect for a wine joke to fall flat is around a bunch of mom bloggers. They practically invented sayings like […]
