Month: June 2016

Explaining Big Things to Your Child

A member of an Facebook adoption group recently posed an question: How should adoptive parents talk adoption with their children? It got me thinking, and I realized the question goes beyond adoption, to other Big Things like death and sex. more…

Reinventing Yourself Professionally

One evening, I spoke by phone to my friend John Murphy, AKA “Murph,” now of Human Arts Media. I was desperate for a way forward after losing my longtime job as a technical writer. more…

Defender of Our Poor Cat-Upon Carpets: Fizzion

Yes, healthy cats are extremely clean. That is, if you don’t count their mouths, which a bite can reveal to be a lacerating pit of tiny infectious monsters. But a cat’s cleanliness extends mostly just to the cat him/herself. As far as your home goes, erm, not so clean. more…

Your Child May Be Entitled to Services. Good Luck.

SD was a “special needs” adoption. She had a cleft palate, and her speech was delayed. (She’s making up for it now, boy howdy.) The state we live in more…

When a Lost Career Means a Lost Self

It may be that we don’t realize how much self-worth we derive from our work until we’re shown the door. It’s a dizzying sensation. And when you realize your age means you won’t ever get another job like the one you lost, it’s a punch in the chest. more…

Compartmentalize, Duh

It’s amazing it took me so long to realize that it’s not just okay to compartmentalize, it’s really important. more…

Time: Little Kids Don’t Believe in It

Kids and time. Yeesh.

Take a kid who normally understands what you say pretty perfectly, and try to get her out of the house. It’s a Universal Translator fail as your “Hurry up! We have to leave NOW!” reached her ears “$d%)& #0! W^ &( #%G&X@ XNF!,” if it reaches them at all.

Kids' and time

How’d I Ever Wind Up in the Gig Economy?

I’m definitely not the brightest Baby Boomer I’ve ever met—for example, I never secured myself enough money to retire—but I have learned two things more…

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