Because competitive parenting is not a real sport.
A B- is a pandemic-appropriate goal As schools closed and shelter-in-place orders sprouted, my social media filled with parents swapping tips for homeschooling and entertaining suddenly-schedule-less kids. These posts had an aura of panic, cloaked in a layer of winking-emoji-and-wineglass humor, but there was a strong social-norming message too: good parents would adjust to this... Continue Reading →
With disruptions to work and school, social distancing rules, and conflicting advice on all sides, many of us are feeling confused, anxious, and overwhelmed. But living with a happiness expert means I have a pile of science-backed tactics to help you navigate these strange and difficult times. Here’s our best-of list of tips (BONUS: they... Continue Reading →
So now that (I hope) you’re all hot and bothered about race, I’ll spend the last week of Black History Month on ways white people can continue to learn more. Because (and this is super important) it’s not your black friends’ and colleagues’ job to educate you. It’s exhausting and demeaning to have to tell... Continue Reading →
It's week 3 of Black History Month so here are another seven days of articles, videos and memes to help my fellow white folks get more comfortable talking about race. (Are you having the same sense of exhaustion and overwhelm as you did halfway through your last Whole 30 or gym challenge? Me too. But... Continue Reading →
Ready for your second week of race-related nuggets of wisdom? DAY 8: How learning to connect across difference is like learning about math I love the idea that learning to connect with people across our differences (in race, gender, workstyle, whatever) is a skill you learn just like math: step by step. You can’t jump... Continue Reading →
In honor of Black History Month, I’m going to share my favorite thought-provoking articles, videos and learnings about race each week. If we’re going to fix the massive racial disparities in this country — in health, education, incarceration, income, basically in EVERYTHING — white people need to explore how being white shaped their experience and... Continue Reading →
How do you raise a kid who can get into a good college without driving yourself crazy for 18 years?
Sometimes folks new to town mistakenly assume that San Diego has no seasons. Here are ten foolproof ways to spot "autumn."
“He’s out there again, Frank.” I said it out loud even though I knew Frank couldn’t hear me. Frank, who has been gone almost two years now.
The burger is delicious but there will be repercussions.Downward dog exposes the precarious structural integrity of my right-side-up face.Compliments come with an unspoken “for your age” hanging off the end.6am isn’t as early as it used to be. 11pm is much, much later. This could use just a pinch more salt.I don’t need reading glasses... Continue Reading →
One of the few things that brings me more pain than clutter is realizing I am a cliché. So you can imagine the emotional turmoil caused by Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up phenomenon. My love of organization has deep roots. I grew up in a tools-on-a-pegboard, boxes-as-drawer-organizers house. In elementary school, I set aside entire Saturdays... Continue Reading →
Growing up in Southern California in the ‘80s, I learned that there were three categories of people: boys who played sports and liked girls, girls who wore Bonnie Bell lip gloss and liked boys, and everyone else, who we lumped into a catch-all category labeled “gay.” This “gay” bucket included everyone from Martina Navratilova to... Continue Reading →
This month's flashback post brought to you in honor of Let's Talk month. Dear World’s Okayest Mom, It’s happened. My daughter came home from school and asked me where babies come from. She’s only nine! What do I tell her?! I don’t want to freak her out, but I know I’m supposed to talk about... Continue Reading →
Dear WOM, My ten-year-old got in trouble searching “porn” on a school computer. I’m not even sure he knows what porn is yet. How do I handle this? Sincerely, Perv’s Dad? Dear Perv’s Dad?, You are not the first one to ask me this. In fact, you’re the fourth friend/neighbor/random stranger to bring up this... Continue Reading →
The first time it happened, we were at In-n-Out waiting for our burgers. In front of us was man in full Army uniform, missing a leg. “Mommy,” my daughter whisper-screamed as only a toddler can do. “Where’s his leg? Why doesn’t he have a leg?” I reacted like many new parents who also lack social... Continue Reading →
Dear World’s Okayest Mom, I kind of hate my 12-year-old daughter right now. Everything is overly dramatic and I haven’t heard a civil word from her in months. Last week, for example, we voted as a family on where to get takeout for dinner and she lost. She stomped out of the room and slammed... Continue Reading →
I can’t be the only parent who rates her children’s activities based on the relative torturous-ness of their associated events. My personal scale runs from 0 to weekend-long-soccer-tournament-in-Orange-County. Lacrosse games and children’s theater are about 3; high school improv is a 5. Last night’s two-hour middle school band and orchestra concert was a 7, primarily... Continue Reading →
My daughter spent seven years in a kids’ theater program in our neighborhood, starting as the baker/spoon/villager-with-pitchfork in Beauty and the Beast and working her way up to Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. After the final show in the spring of their eighth-grade year, the director shared anecdotes about each of the kids graduating... Continue Reading →
Dear Apple, As much as moms love their runny scrambled eggs, burnt toast and handmade construction paper cards, I had some ideas of what we really want for Mother’s Day. Can you put your engineers on it and release something by Mother’s Day next year? A device that accurately translates what’s happening in our kids’... Continue Reading →
Dear World’s Okayest Mom, My nephew is seven and a really nice kid, but sort of odd and sensitive. He’s going to have a pretty hard time of it in the world of boys. And he has long hair, which is only going to make it worse. What’s the best way to tell his parents... Continue Reading →
