This fictional character I admire so much had a bad day as a mom, too. And like me, she owned it. She admitted fault. And she apologized to her daughters for her behavior. “Stop yelling at me,” I shouted. “I won’t be yelled at!” My 10-year-old daughter made a sound between a growl and […]
Most weekends, my $43,000 salary was going toward rental cars, hotels, and eating out with Cameron. During those years, I never took a formal vacation – my vacation was spending time with my son. I am a mom of a 19-year-old son and a 20-month-old daughter. My children are the loves of my life. Every […]
She still comes over and tries to stay for as long as possible. I still have to remind her to leave. It’s a work in progress, and maybe it always will be. I never spent much time worrying about parenting adult children. In the early years, I was too busy navigating the complex demands of […]
After growing up with seven siblings who were adopted into the family and one sibling who was biologically connected to my parents, I recognize that society places a higher value on children born biologically than those who are adopted. “I want to adopt, but I’m going to have biological kids first.” Have you heard anyone […]
Childcare is an accessibility issue. It determines a parent’s – let’s be real, a mother’s – ability to exist in the world and participate in society. Every summer I volunteer for a week at a day camp where girls learn to play music. It’s a beautiful oasis of art and feminism and love and empowerment, […]
Down syndrome is definitely part of our life, but it’s not the axis on which our family turns. Ten years ago my wife and I found out that the child she was carrying had Down syndrome. I immediately assumed this child would suck all of the “me” out of my world and that I was […]
There’s a strong narrative in our country that suggests queer people shouldn’t be allowed to raise children because they’ll make them queer. My response to that is: Queer people should raise children because we give them possibilities. The other day I was caught in the kind of awkward conversation I am often caught in. My […]
I wanted to give my son what I didn’t have: the feeling that he didn’t have to choose, and that he had one big family. “Why would you not get a dog?” My friend is asking this because I was talking about wanting to adopt a pet. “Well, my son is allergic to cats and […]
