Two hands

Two hands. Sometimes, having two hands feels sufficient. With two hands I can tickle my son until he squeals. With two hands I can give my daughter a relaxing face massage. I can open most jars, clean up most messes, do most TikTok dances. Often, two hands feel like they cannot do enough. They feel futile; laughable; ...

Baby Ever After

"I know words, and I love words, but I simply do not have the words to express my gratitude for this book and for all of the people who made it possible." When I wrote this in the acknowledgments of Baby Ever After, it was my way of trying to convey the deep and profound appreciation I feel in ...

Babysitting

originally published on this here site, over four years ago, and I still feel the very same way! Photo circa April, 2014 -- Beau's former signature move. Today, he is still just as crafty, he is just a lot taller.  Or, as I like to call it, “Why everyone who wants to be a parent someday should babysit ...

Being a parent is hard.

"Did you feel the house sway?" I asked, trepidatiously. The people around me all nodded, as we peered outside the sunroom windows, staring at a blowing blanket of white snow. "I know that we all felt the house move when that cyclone passed over us, but our house is over 100 years old, so it must be ...

happy place

Do you have a happy place? A spot on this earth where you feel most at peace, or joyful, or zen, or brimming with glee? Where you feel most like you? At the moment, I have a few: In my kiddos' arms, With my head on Kenny's shoulder, St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and, Haverford College. For years, I would visit Haverford ...

What I want, now.

Last year, right around this very time, I published a post called, What I Want, which was both a Holiday Wish List and a nod to The Spice Girls. Last November, I wrote, "There are so many meaningful things that I want this holiday season, and none of them can be held in my hands. I want for my family and ...

“I need to access your heart.”

"Does that stethoscope really work?" he asked, his blue, marble-like eyes widening. "Of course! I am a real doctor," I said, straightening the lab coat I had gotten made for his Halloween birthday party. I'd had it embroidered with "Meredith Grey M.D. F.A.C.S." to wear along with my scrubs, messy bun, Grey + Sloan Memorial Hospital ID badge, and converse ...

lists of five.

Hello, there. Nice to see you again so soon. Look. I am going to be straight up with you. This just happened: That's right. I wrote a post, the program stopped responding, quit and did not save my work. This is now a test for me; a test in brevity. In my original version of this post I went into the whole ...

Not enough

The photo above was taken last month at Ludlow House, on the Lower East Side, for my sister's pub day party. It shows a little bit of sparkle. And makeup. And the cool updo. And glitter. Gotta get my glitter back.  *** I couldn’t have scripted this any better. This morning, I woke up and I lingered in ...

The Hardest Post

This post - titled, "The Hardest Post I've Ever Written," was originally published on here on February 24, 2014: on my son's four-month-birthday.  That means, of course, that this was written at exactly four months postpartum, for me. I am re-posting this, today, to give context to some of what is to come; some of what ...