When I was little, my mom was editor of The View, a community newspaper in our California hometown. Today I came across a photo of us marching together in a parade in April 1982. I don’t remember the experience, but I know I must have felt pretty important to...
This month, I started taking an online writing course through the HerStories Project, a writing community for Gen X women “in the messy middle of life.” I have mixed feelings about this mid-life thing. At times, my brain is firmly stuck in the adolescent years. I’m intimidated by the...
Recently, I felt like a fraud telling my daughter that trophies don't matter as much as believing in yourself. Haven't I, like my kids, relied on external results as proof that I’m good at something?...
If you’re a parent, chances are you’ve heard about this article by Christie Tate, which appeared last week in the On Parenting section of the Washington Post: “My daughter asked me to stop writing about motherhood. Here’s why I can’t do that.” Since reading the article, I haven’t been...
I’m going to start this post with a movie reference, but hear me out. In The Greatest Showman, there’s a scene in which famed circus founder P.T. Barnum pulls off a breathtaking performance by opera singer Jenny Lind, dazzling a sold-out crowd of wealthy, high-society people. Even Barnum’s stodgy, snobby...
