Pixie is turning six soon, and I haven’t written about parenting for nearly half his life now. But now I am, and here is my confession: I am a five-plus parent. Five-year-old Pixie is the sweetest, smartest kid in town, sporting the cutest nose. So delightful is he that I can even keep a sense of humour about the whining,… Read more →
It’s been a while since I’ve written a post. The reason, mostly, is that this blog is a series of reflections, and when too much life is happening, there’s no time to reflect. That has been the case for some time now: I think I’ll need five years of therapy to digest the past year! But yesterday inspiration has come… Read more →
I apologise for referring to the junior person as “she” throughout this post, and assuming that the senior one is a “he”. I know this is only one of many possible situations, and much of what I say applies to any of the others too. This is going to be a complicated post, so I summarised my recommendations in a… Read more →
Happy Mother’s Day three weeks ago, everyone! After a long hiatus, I meant to write something for the holiday that won’t traumatise you. Late as always, here’s a light-hearted post about the person who pushed me bum-first into this world. My Mom. Devoted. Introverted. Pragmatic. Perfectionist. Once, a long time ago, I was unfaithful to a partner, and when in the ensuing… Read more →
At age twelve I designed my dream house for a school project. There was a large pool in the backyard, the house had three levels, the top level was home to a family playroom with a window overlooking the yard, and from this window a waterslide snaked down to the pool. The house hugged the slide proudly in a crescent… Read more →
For my birthday last year Pink got me a writing class in creative non-fiction. I never ask for a specific present, but this time I had given him a subtle hint: a link to the enrolment page. The true present, of course, was that on six Thursday nights Pink put Pixie to bed by himself, while I had a blast… Read more →
I’ve been a bit depressed lately, so I haven’t felt like writing. I considered writing about being a bit depressed, but I’ll never do it as well as Hyperbole and a Half so it seemed pointless. Besides, as far as depression goes mine is laughably mild, so why make it a big deal by devoting a blog post to it. That’s just… Read more →
Pink, Pixie and I have just returned from a two-month tour of the world where we caught up with countless friends and family members, many of whom are parents of young children. When you only see someone face to face once or twice a year, there is always an element of surprise: bellies have turned into babies, last year’s infants… Read more →
After this late Valentine’s Day post, here is the next in the series of badly timed holiday writing – published with my mom’s consent. The week before Mother’s day in fourth grade, my teacher suggested that we make the day special for our moms by preparing a nice breakfast for them. I loved to cook and bake, in fact, I was… Read more →
(TW: Weight-related feelings and some mild behaviours described. No specific numbers.) One of my friends in university was writing a psychology essay on the effects of the internet on young women suffering from eating disorders. She told me about forums and message boards she read as part of her research, where anorexia is encouraged as a “lifestyle choice”. Women and… Read more →