Let’s talk for a minute about flexibility. I’m not very flexible. When I was a kid, we had to do sit-and-reach to measure the flexibility of our hamstrings and I always barely passed. I watched other girls, ones who could fold themselves up into pretzels, reach past their toes effortlessly. And I just couldn’t. I’ve done yoga regularly for years and can now fold forward and touch the bottoms of my feet. It feels like a minor miracle, but not without years of practice—stretching and …
everyday life
How to Balance Deep and Shallow Work Online
I spent about ten months last year off social media. I heard a podcast where a woman described how freeing it was for her to be off it for nearly two years, and something inside me clicked. I wanted that. I wanted freedom, less pressure. I wanted off the merry-go-round. I found myself journaling more than ever. I was piecing together what life could look like when I wasn’t constantly worried about what I had to post. Did I still have anything to say? If I did, how would I go about saying it? …
Maybe We’re the Gilmore Girls
Lily tiptoes into my bedroom, but I don’t hear her. She gently taps me on the shoulder. “Mom,” she says, giving me a little shake. I blink my eyes open, trying to make out her shape in the darkness. “What is it?” I ask, but I already know what she’s going to say. She woke up and can’t get back to sleep. I pull the blanket back and slide over to make room for her. She climbs in, not hoisting herself up like she did a few years ago, but gently slinking into the bed and under the covers. She is …
The Photos that Cheer Us Up
On my refrigerator is a photograph I took of my daughter Lily right before she turned two. A few months ago, while my husband Adam was cleaning out the basement, he found it and handed it to me, a big smile on his face. “Do you remember this?” he asked. “Yeah, I do,” I said, taking the photo in my hand. “I took this at that restaurant on the Causeway. We were sitting outside, but they made us move in because it was too windy and the umbrellas were almost bending in half.” I looked closer …
Things We Carry on Mother’s Day
I wish I could say I’ve always liked Mother’s Day. I can see how, if you have a good relationship with your mother, the day pops up in the middle of May like a reminder: Remember how much you love the woman who mothered you. Tell her. I would stand in the card aisle at the grocery store pulling down cards one by one, reading them and scoffing. My relationship with my mother has never been the kind you’d put in a greeting card. No one wants to send a card that says, “I struggle with loving …