This Fourth of July, I celebrated freedom the old-fashioned way: by accidentally achieving it. Not metaphorical freedom. Not “out of office but secretly checking Slack every 11 minutes” freedom. I mean full-blown, Founding Fathers would weep, unreachable freedom. I went on a family trip. I saw relatives I […]
I recently stumbled upon an article (and I use the term news generously these days) about adults using pacifiers to calm themselves down. Adult. Pacifiers. Pause. Now listen! I actually get the impulse. We are living in times that feel like a constant low-grade alarm bell. Everyone is […]
Google, in its quiet algorithmic way, decided to ambush me today. “This day, years ago,” it said, like it wasn’t about to rearrange my entire nervous system before coffee. And there he was. My son, younger, mid-air, literally suspended in that impossible, physics-defying moment of childhood joy. His […]
You really can’t make this stuff up anymore. Or rather, you can, and apparently people are doing so with admirable commitment and a suspicious amount of PowerPoint. This week’s dispatch from the “Is This Real Life or Did I Fall Asleep on the Remote?” files includes a story […]
There is a word (because of course there is a word) for when life doesn’t just happen to you, but slowly organizes against you with your quiet, unknowing participation. It’s called zemblanity. Which sounds like a country you don’t want to vacation in. Or a skincare condition. It […]
What’s a mystery from your own life that you’ve never solved? I’ve been “resilient” for as long as I can remember. Not in the cute, inspirational poster way, with a lotus flower rising from mud. But in the quiet, clinical way adults say it when they’ve decided you […]
There was a time, not long ago, although it now feels like it existed in sepia tones, when dinner was just dinner. A plate, a fork, maybe a passive-aggressive comment about who didn’t unload the dishwasher, and if you were lucky, a moment of connection wedged somewhere between […]
I realized something important about myself the other night while loading the dishwasher. I have a rare and possibly underappreciated life skill. I am extremely good at dishwasher spatial engineering. Not just good. Elite. While others in the household appear to load the dishwasher using what I can […]
While taking a break from spring cleaning (by which I mean sitting on the floor in a light existential spiral surrounded by piles labeled keep, donate, and why do I own this), I happened to look up at my living room wall. Not glance. Look. And there it […]
There are people who cry at weddings. People who cry at movies. People who cry at tax season. I cry at dog stories. A heroic dog.A rescued dog.A dog reunited with its human.A dog wearing a tiny raincoat. I am emotionally available for all of it. So when […]
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