I lie on my side, stretched out, watching television, hardly aware of my mother and stepfather in the background, so I am startled when Jack bends down behind me, yardstick in hand. He places it on the floor next to my butt and exclaims, “Holy shit, look how big that thing is.” My mother says nothing. I am livid. I
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Women describe motherhood like a cliff: It’s a leap of faith that no one knows if she’ll survive. Now that I’m pregnant with my first child, I keep hearing about all the things I’ll never do again: sleep eight solid hours… have sex… get drunk… wear a bikini… travel… save money… have adult conversations not about poo… change plans spontaneously.
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“No, this dress isn’t right,” my daughter exclaims. I want to roll my eyes. Instead, I smile and say, “Hmmm, I like it.” The Prom is approaching, and the dress debacle has begun. Clamoring for the perfect dress is our immediate mission, but seeking perfection is an ongoing issue. Hair, clothes, boyfriends, grades–perfection is the goal. Looking at my daughter
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This past Mother’s Day, a local radio station did a segment called “The Worst Mother’s Day Ever.” In case that title isn’t descriptive enough for you, they basically asked mothers to call in and describe how horrible their Mother’s Day went. The mother with the worst story won a $700 pair of earrings! Of all the calls that rolled in,
Read moreJunior Seau was a great football player. Growing up in San Diego as a Charger fan himself, Seau embodied the lightning bolt. He seemed to have twice as much energy as everyone else on the field. He was exhilarating to watch. When news of his death hit last week, my mom sent me a text message that read, “Brings back
Read moreMy first visit to New York was in the fall of 2004, a month before the presidential election. I came to visit my then-boyfriend who was here for a few weeks doing a rotation for med school. Exactly three years later—almost to the day—I moved here—this time, to live with Drew, the man I’d been cross-country dating for the last
Read moreParents. We all have them (sort of), we all love them (sometimes), and we all have to deal with their actions, asinine as we may believe them to be. I have to admit, my parents are pretty awesome. But, of course, they have their flaws, and they make plenty of mistakes. My parents are devout conservative Christians. Obviously then, the
Read moreIn the middle of the night in downtown Paterson, New Jersey, 30 years ago, a young woman sat upright in her bed, all alone. She had a phone for the night nurse next to the bed, but aside from her nerves, there was nothing wrong with her. The doctors would see her at 8:00 AM. Until then, her only company was the seven-pound, two-ounce baby
Read moreAugust 23, 2010 Rough day for me today. I stayed at work a little later than I had planned, so I had to hustle to get to the hospital before visiting hours were over. My friend’s father had to have surgery to remove infections from both of his artificial knees. His son (my friend) lives in Georgia, so I went
Read moreI’m into the bad boys. The kind who never lets you know where you stand, who turns his soulful eyes on you months after you’ve broken up, who runs things on his schedule and never yours.
I’ve played the games and alternately loved and hated them, sometimes playing better than the boys and sometimes playing worse. I’ll let them tug on my heartstrings, even if it hurts, just to know that someone sees me. So I don’t have to be alone.
Read moreI don’t consider myself a saccharine person, but one thing I wouldn’t mind having a little bit sweeter is my family. We get together on holidays and birthdays, but there’s always a lot of dead air. Dead air, as in someone just sucked all the oxygen out of the room, leaving only panicked expressions on our faces. It doesn’t help
Read moreBut I’m going to tell you right here and now, that happiness isn’t something that happens to you. It’s something you have to make for yourself.
Read moreTake a look at life through the eyes of a toddler!
Read moreIf you read my previous article, you probably noticed that I strayed from my usual subject matter to talk about some non-dating-related events in my life. Well, I figured there were some important lessons to be learned from all this. And here they are: 12. Do not ever sustain a serious injury on a cruise ship. You will literally be
Read moreAs some of you may know, I’m on a 7-day cruise with my family this week. So, you may or may not be surprised to hear from me. Well, I have good news, bad news, and news to make you say “hmmmmm.” The good news is… I now have unlimited internet access at our hotel. The bad news is… we’re
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