Columns

Today, I turned 40 years old. I hold in my hands the gift I received on my 10th birthday, a white, orange, and gold plastic earring case. And I remember.…

When did I stop being a “cool mom”? The hip mama, the youthful one, the understanding mom? When did my kids start pretending they didn’t know me? With all those…

“The _____ on the bus go round and round . . .” What red-blooded American preschooler would not be able to fill in the gap on that one? Mine. Of…

Every night, five-year-old Taylor sends up requests and thanksgiving, giving voice to her heart’s sighs and desires: “. . . And I pray that the bad guys would be gone…

I’m sitting in a chair at the edge of the playground with six other moms of new preschoolers. We’re “transitioning.” Our kids are learning to navigate the rule-filled days of…

I am a young, black mother who has lived a life of relative ease, filled with loving family and wonderful friends, with a few obligatory ups and downs and twists…

I pressed the buzzer of my therapist’s building, a small Victorian in downtown Berkeley. I hadn’t been to see her in four years. I felt like a wind-up toy just…

I checked my e-mail yesterday morning and found a message from a friend who is an at-home mom, like me. She has a three-year-old daughter and an eight-month-old son. She…

You know you’re in trouble when you start identifying with the bad guy. I read to my seven-year-old son Nick every other night. His dad reads to him the nights…

“Hello? Dr. Hamm?” My three-year-old son is riding his tricycle up the ramp of the post office. I can’t miss this call. “Niko, WAIT!” I yell. “Sophia, like my nurse…

I’ve been informed that my grandchildren will come via adoption. “Oh, really,” I say. “Why?” “No kissing,” my daughter replies. “Kissing is just too gross.” And she puckers up her…