Essential Services

Sometimes, as I plan my day with MJ and Little L around an afternoon trip to Target, five minutes away -- and all the logistics that such a simple journey will require -- I marvel at the freedom of mobility I had in my 20s. A few months living in New York, a few months living in Chicago, and a few more living in D.C. Hopping in the car and spending a weekend with friends in Atlanta. Taking an 11-…

• Posted 2 days ago.

Olympic Junkie

I am, like a lot of people, an Olympic junkie. From Mary Lou to the Battle of the Brians and onward, I've long been obsessed with the Games. I once had a tropical fish named Karch Kiraly (after the volleyball player), and I was known to make cookies decorated in icing uniforms of my favorite athletes. I was a little bit loony about it, you might say.

• Posted 1 week ago.

In Praise of Grandparents

Most of the time, I'm pretty certain I understand the work of motherhood. It's being a grandparent one day that really worries me.

• Posted 2 weeks ago.

A Just Add Water Day

If yesterday had been performance review day at my office, I would probably be writing this from a cardboard box underneath an overpass next to a van down by the river. Luckily, my employers are both under 3 feet tall, and I'm not afraid of them, no matter how much they complain about my management style.

• Posted 3 weeks ago.

Twenty-Seven Dollars for My Memories

• Posted 1 mon. ago.

Dinner is a Battlefield

When I stop and think about the two tasks that most befuddle my 3-year-old - those being eating and sleeping - I can't help but think I must still be living in caveman times. It feels like, with all that modern science can accomplish, from the wonder that is Pixar to powering a car on shelled corn, we should have come up with a solution by now for kids who won't do the two things all adults crave …

• Posted 1 mon. ago.

Time Broker

As I drove away from MJ's summer camp last week, I had already broken the two hours of toddler-free time I had before me into efficient, 20-minute chunks. Twenty minutes at the grocery store, where I would feed Little L her bottle with one hand while steering my cart with the other. Twenty minutes at home to give the baby a snack and then clean her bottles. Twenty minutes to change her diaper and …

• Posted 1 mon. ago.

I Dream of Lightning McQueen

• Posted 1 mon. ago.

Repeat After Me: "I Do Not Want Another Baby"…

Dear Maternal Subconscious,

• Posted 1 mon. ago.

What Do You Mean I'm Sensitive?

After one recent, long morning and early afternoon full of whining and requests -- mostly by my children -- I put them both in bed for naps and got out my yoga mat. I opened the back door and let the fresh air come inside and listened to the soft breeze blowing the trees in my backyard. The perfect setup to focus on my long-neglected self, my aging bones and sad little bits of muscle. A rare escap…

• Posted 2 mon. ago.