A three-year-old gave me this mug back in the day, back when I used to teach preschool. I love preschoolers. I’d been working with little ones since I was in high school and I quit (officially) when I was ready to give birth for the first time. I just noticed the little chip in the … Read more
I don’t know what it’s like to be a dude. I’ve only been me. So I’m not saying one job’s harder than the other, you feel me? It’s not a competition. I can only speak to the work women do to survive, to thrive. We’ve heard the men-in-the-army phrase, “band of brothers,” … Read more
I like to write about little things that turn into big things. That spontaneous decision someone makes that turns into a life-changing event—for them, for someone else. This is the stuff of magic, of miracles, whatever you’d like to call it. I call it love. Pure and simple. That’s exactly what my new … Read more
I’m not one of those people who start a sentence with “I’m never on Facebook, but I did see this one thing…” Queue record scratch sound effect. These are the same people who say, “I never watch TV, but I saw…” I call bull. If you’re one of those people, … Read more
I’ve accompanied John on his business trip to San Francisco this week, and while he’s been in marathon meetings, I’m checking out the city, meeting friends, eating the tea leaf salad at Burma Superstar or just enjoying the view from the 32nd floor of our hotel, with its panorama of the financial district, … Read more
In Kahil Gibran’s piece, “On Joy and Sorrow,” he says, Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter arises was oftentimes filled with your tears. How else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. I’d read that passage … Read more
This is a photograph on my wall. It’s on my birthday, ten years ago. I’m with my friend, Haydee, who passed away a week and a half or so later. She’d been fighting ovarian cancer for five years. Haydee had been fighting something else for much longer, maybe her entire life. She fought against … Read more
Some are calling this “the year of the woman.” I would love for it to be the year of “eyes wide open.” The year when, collectively, we stop looking the other way, stop accepting bad behavior as just “boys-will-be-boys.” A group of women in Paris have denounced the #metoo movement. I just don’t get … Read more
On my mother-in-law Sandy’s wall, there’s a sign that says, “Do one thing every day that makes you happy.” Other than giving me permission to eat gnocchi every day, this inspires me to go a little deeper than pleasing my tongue and tummy every day with tiny potato dumplings. After I crawl … Read more
I love Oprah because, well, Oprah. I loved her before but like many, I was deeply moved by her acceptance speech last night. After the video montage of her accomplishments, I thought, Whoa, this woman has a legit legacy. But in her acceptance speech, rather than bask in the glory of her accomplishments and … Read more