As I mentioned a bit ago, I have been bingeing on Where Should We Begin? by Esther Perel. The first episode of the second season (“You Need Help to Help Her”), she’s talking with a couple who has a young adult daughter with problems. Most of the details of the episode aren’t relevant to this … Read more
Every year, memes get passed around that say something to the effect of, “For Mother’s Day, I want to sleep in and wake up to a clean house.” Lots of “ha ha ha” reactions. But you know what? Based on conversations I’ve had with women in the past couple of year, that would actually be … Read more
People change. In fact, people should be (and in some cases, are) encouraged to change. When you know better, do better. (That’s change.) So I’m conflicted about judging politicians, for example, by stances they held 20 or 30 years ago. (This is also perhaps an indicator that we shouldn’t have career politicians, but that’s another … Read more
The Kid had lots of energy the other night and wanted to play with other kids. It was too late in the evening to try to call around to see if any of his friends were available. (This is a huge disadvantage to him not going to the neighborhood school—his school friends don’t live around … Read more
Shortly after I learned and announced I was pregnant, I received more correspondence from immediate and extended family than I had in years. They let me know how horrible I am; how I ruin everything I touch; how I’m selfish and won’t just “get over” how my family treats me (because there’s nothing wrong with how … Read more
I posted this the other day: “I just read an article about screen time and kids, and it made mention of four hours daily being moderate use. How is four hours of TV/gaming/etc moderate??” When I was in therapy, one of the things my therapist was trying to drill down into was whether I was … Read more
“We did xyz when we were kids, and we turned out fine.” I hate this argument. If we’re making a strictly alive-vs.-dead argument, the people who died aren’t here to argue the other side. Seat belts, car seats, bike helmets immediately come to mind. As a health argument, young people now have a shorter life … Read more
I wrote the other day about how I believe it’s prudent to be mindful about what we purchase, use, eat, drink because of negative health implications. It’s easy to be overwhelmed because there are so many carcinogens (and that says nothing of all of the crap that’s causing other adverse effects.) So if we know … Read more
A while back, I was at a going-away party at a school. There were sandwiches, chips, etc. set out cafeteria-style, and some of the lunch ladies were helping distribute it. lunch lady: Do you want some chips? me: No thank you. LL: It’s OK to cheat. me: It’s not cheating. LL: You’re on a diet. … Read more
The Climbing Daddy and I were at the climbing gym the other day, and there were some parents with a young child on the beginner wall. The kid was maybe a third of the way up the wall, and the parents were yelling all sorts of suggestions and directions up at her. I turned to … Read more