Sometimes poetic nostalgia for an idyllic “traditional family” past just masks a stubborn refusal to accept reality, says Role/Reboot’s Editor-in-Chief Nicole Rodgers. Conservative men love to summon righteous indignation anytime it’s brought to their attention that the real world does not resemble an episode of Leave It To Beaver. So strong reactions to Wednesday’s Pew […]
As she’s gradually changing roles with her mother, Rachel Darden Bennett is trying to maintain a connection with her mother’s beautiful spirit. I got a call from the head nurse of the memory care unit telling me my mother was punched today. I feel my stomach tighten. It’s the feeling you get when the person […]
Three months since the death of her son, Emily Rapp discusses the guilt she faces as life charges on. Today marks the three-month anniversary of my son Ronan’s death. It’s spring now, and he died in late winter, in the early hours of a bitterly cold morning. Now the birds are out, chirping and fighting […]
The only mother figure in Christan Marashio’s life for nearly 40 years was her stepmother, but when she wrote Christan out of her will, Christan was left wondering if the love she always felt from her stepmother was all an act. In June 2012, my father passed away unexpectedly. A valve in his 86-year-old heart […]
Brian Hyman shares the powerful story of the moment he learned that those we love never leave us. “I will not let you fall” is what I said to my mother before we danced at my sister’s wedding on a warm Florida evening. My mother had late-stage brain cancer at the time. Her doctors figured […]
Every year on Mother’s Day, Sydne Didier sends her own message of thanks to her son’s birth mother and foster mother. The last time I mentioned her, we were playing badminton. As so often happens when I watch him move, so smooth and confident in his body, I think of her. “I wonder if your […]
On this first Mother’s Day after the loss of her son Ronan, Emily Rapp ponders what it truly means to be a mother. “He was the son of his son—he was here, he was left behind.” – Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin In preparation for this upcoming Mother’s Day, I’ve been reading a […]
It’s time to let our boys be themselves in all their variety as human beings, rather than walking representatives of masculinity. Three years ago, I wrote an essay called “Raising an Egalitarian Son” (published in Mutuality Magazine). Our process for doing that was straightforward: Don’t use sexist language; don’t push gender-based activities; and don’t watch […]
Originally appeared on Mamamia. Republished here with permission. My timing could be better. We’re just over a week away from Mother’s Day and here I am writing a post that essentially criticizes my mom. Let me tell you, it makes for uncomfortable writing. And it’s entirely Kate Winslet’s fault. More on that in a moment. […]
When will people stop treating Lyla Cicero’s husband like a saint just for doing his job as a dad? When my husband goes out alone with our children—diaper bag and double stroller in tow—the seas part for him as onlookers pause to gawk at the adorable twins, and their brave, laudable father “giving mom a […]
This originally appeared on Mamamia. Republished here with permission. All we knew of my birth mother was typed on a small sheet of paper: Dutch Australian; blue eyes; 5’3″; fair complexion; 18 years old; Catholic. Her age and religion coupled with the time into which I was born leave no doubt as to why she […]
Is parental oversharing on social media a cry for empathy, and for connection with other parents? What is it about kids’ crying and misbehavior that provoke such a reaction in us? It’s visceral. Whether your child is 2 weeks old or 2 years old, a child’s screams and weird behavior can rip at your inner […]
