I see the signs of summer’s end creeping into our daily routine. My daughter’s summer activities have tapered from a flood to a trickle as each one ends. I laugh at myself now, fearing at the beginning of summer that I was over scheduling my five year old; now I’m fretting about how to keep… Read More Change

Long days short years (more than a) Few tears Keep them close But at arms length Weak in the knees Or beg for strength Tight squeezes Pushing back Extreme connection (then the lack) Doing your best Doubting all Full heart Trust fall We carry them for a time But they’re within us for good The… Read More Mothering

This night…I’m as sleepless as I was five years ago, except this time she’s beside me instead of within me. But always within me; always a piece of me… It’s clear that one of my favorite times with my daughter is snuggling her to sleep at night. No matter what the day brought, it’s our… Read More Be Still Together

It’s late, but my daughter isn’t feeling well and is having trouble sleeping. She’s got me pulled in close, playing with my ear as she always had, and I’m simultaneously basking in the snuggle and trying to avoid her germy breathing. Up close like this, I can still see in her face the little baby… Read More Baby face

My first degree was in sociology and women’s studies. I chose it because I loved it. I liked that my classes pushed me to think out of my comfort zone and consider possibilities I didn’t know existed. I didn’t understand what feminism was before college, and it was there that it increasingly became a pivotal… Read More Two times parenting has made me question my feminism (and why my feminism is stronger because of it)

Nothing makes you feel more like you’re in the Twilight Zone than when your four year old hits, kicks, punches and name calls. It stings even more when the behavior is directed almost solely at you as her mother. I’d considered everything to explain her brash and sudden behavior – too much sugar, too much… Read More Roll with it, baby

Somehow, when my daughter began preschool, I got into the habit of treating her to little surprises when I picked her up from school. Sometimes it was a small treat, like a cookie or a piece of candy; other times it was a trip for ice cream or a surprise visit from her aunt or… Read More Learning to speak her love language

Have you ever stopped to look at your kid? Like, really stop and stare? I used to get away with this a lot when she was little – those long hours breastfeeding were perfect for studying her long eyelashes, the nose that resembles mine, the roundness of her cheeks, the thinness of her nails; feel… Read More Stop and stare

Things have been a bit, well, tense around our house lately. Seemingly out of the blue my daughter’s behavior has been explosive – unpredictable and unprompted. She’ll lash out verbally and physically, launching us into a power struggle of me trying to put an end to the behavior while she does her best to show… Read More Mantra 2.0

Beware the barrenness of a busy life. – Socrates I’ve been hiding behind the excuse of being too busy for too long. Too busy to text. Too busy to call. Too busy to get together. Too busy to work out. To busy to sit. Too busy to sleep. Stop. We all have packed lives. So… Read More Beware the barrenness