From Mama to Bo My dearest Bo, In a few hours, you turn two. Two. I have been your Mama for two full years, and I am still catching myself in mild states of disbelief. You are an extraordinary human being even at your age. You do typical toddler boy things, and also don’t. Your… Continue reading We love you fiercely, we love you softly. (Letters to our son as he turns 2)
“Alexa, please play Five Little Monkeys,” I speak out to no person in particular. We’re in the midst of one of the countless feeding-a-toddler episodes that parents know too well. Our 15-month old is getting restless on his booster chair and is kicking off the tray while trying to push his belly out of the… Continue reading Raising a child in the age of Alexa
Today’s teenagers are going through a myriad of things that can seem familiar and strange all at once to those of us who like to say that we have “been there.” “No, you haven’t been there. You really don’t know,” a number of teenagers in classes I covered would, not a bit too touchily, say. … Continue reading 14 Parenting Tips from Teenagers
Why can we not remember being one year old? How can the human brain displace the memory of this almost-magical sprint of time where emotions travel between peaks and valleys in the space of a minute? Where the first infant coos and gassy smiles turn into baby babbling and laughter? Where parents shed self-centered skins… Continue reading The Forgotten First Year
That moment, a very quiet moment, when I hold him close to me and both my arms are wrapped around him. His head is on my shoulder and his chest gently vibrates against mine. I feel his sweet breath at the side of my neck along with soft tiny arms clinging onto me. Everywhere is… Continue reading When the coffee’s cold and life is on hold
It’s been two weeks since I became a mom, and never have two weeks felt so long and so fast at the same time. I knew then that our lives would change. We had planned for, dreamed of, and prepared for this baby. But knowing and experiencing are at times as distant to each other… Continue reading Becoming a mom
The most powerful thing my body has ever done is to grow a life inside of it. No personal miracle that I have ever experienced comes close to discovering the scale of my body’s capacity: to create, transform, and nurture another life. It is a physical and emotional journey so incredibly overwhelming that I still… Continue reading What I really think about pregnancy
Dear Baby Willey, Currently, you’ve been in my tummy for 18 weeks. My app says you’re as big as a sweet potato, about 5.5 inches and 5 ounces. Another app says you’re the size of a croissant, and I’m imagining how your little face is reacting to the size references these pregnancy apps are giving… Continue reading To our baby inside me
We were biking along the streets of Luang Prabang, Laos. It was a December morning and another particularly chilly day (for my tropical standards). The streets were quiet---almost meditative. We stopped at a neighborhood pharmacy, parked our vintage Japanese bikes on the curb, and navigated our way into asking the middle-aged Laotian proprietress for a… Continue reading Really, we’re pregnant?
Mrs. Willey the mommy, I’m sure you’re now making it your life’s mission to take the role of motherhood to the hilt. You had often wondered about how you would raise a child to become an amazing human being. Knowing you, you have now researched and read a lot, and also pictured all sorts of scenarios… Continue reading For My Future Parent Self
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