Rocket Kid is attending half day camp. (We’re all very grateful for places that are maintaining COVID protocols.) We don’t have to leave the house until eight or so. On Tuesday, his first day, I woke up at about six and decided I was going to run before I had to get him up, then … Read more
(Just a heads up: this post contains affiliate links, as well as the background behind how I came to use them. Because I’ve historically not been an affiliate kind of gal.) When I was in seventh grade, my basketball coach told the team that drinking soda during the season was bad for our game. I … Read more
As part of a conversation in episode 42 of No Stupid Questions, Stephen Dubner made mention of people who lived through—and therefore, for a period of time, adapted to—horrible situations, and then shared this hypothesis: “All of us can adapt to some degree. But with something as simple as removing sugar from your coffee, to … Read more
It finally happened. I reached the limit for how heavy I am willing to be. I didn’t know ahead of time what that was. It’s not something I’ve kept in mind all along. I just reached the point where I had to say, “No more!” When I went back to school in 2016, I gained … Read more
Tomorrow (and every day, but for now—tomorrow), I invite you to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a word that has lost meaning because it’s used so much nowadays, but we are not, on the whole, even mediocre at it. Yet. If you’re enjoying a meal full of your favorite foods tomorrow (or any day), instead of … Read more
I have different relationships with sweets and caffeine. Caffeine, I don’t drink for wakefulness—I just like tea. When it’s cool or cold out, I like most kinds of hot tea—black, green, white, rooibos, herbal. But when it’s hot out, I like iced tea. Plain old unsweetened black iced tea. If I drink a cup of … Read more
The novelty of wearing a mask has worn off, and more kids are taking them off. I spent a fair amount of time during class this week showing empathy to their discomfort—I don’t like wearing one, either—and explaining why we’re wearing them. They didn’t seem to know. (That could be no one has explained it … Read more
The Kid has an enormous amount of energy. To be honest, it’s exhausting. But it’s who he is and, for the most part, it’s good for him. As a general rule, we all are too content to sit. He often can when he needs to and the rest of the time? In motion. He received … Read more
First: this is my experience. It might not match yours. I’ve struggled with depression for about as long as I can remember. In relatively recent years, I’ve learned how to manage it. Mine seems to be connection-related. When I feel well-connected to important people, my brain chemicals stay happy. When I feel disconnected from people, … Read more
Lucky number 13! Thirteen years ago, I started my cancer journey (though the diagnosis didn’t come for another week or so). It changed everything and it changed nothing. It was not a blessing in disguise. It didn’t “happen for a reason” (except for whatever the biological root causes were … for which science has guesses … Read more