Less than a week into mass social distancing in response to the novel coronavirus, the Indigo Girls spent 90 minutes the evening of March 19 singing and telling stories to viewers in a generous online concert that brought together many of the people who would no longer be able to see the duo in person…
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Bright spots in spring
Before the long days of summer parenting melt my brain, I want to capture some of the good that happened this spring. I wrote in late April about what life looked like in the first two months of my separation from my husband. Daily journaling for myself has become very important, but time capsules captured…
Recap: Inspiring BlogHer18 Health conference!
BlogHer18 Health, the first health-focused conference produced by BlogHer and SheKnows Media, was a terrific two days full of inspiring speakers, education and connection. To say that I’m glad I went is a profound understatement! It was terrific to be in a space with a shared language of health and wellness being spoken everywhere! I loved it! More…
Join me at Listen to Your Mother DC!
I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be part of this year’s Listen to Your Mother DC cast! If you haven’t ever attended a LTYM performance, make this your year! It is, in fact, the final year of the program as it’s been done around the country with original stories in each city. It’s going to instead become a…
Return to BlogU
BlogU is a small and intimate conference that is both super practical and a lot of fun. It’s local to the greater DC area, which is big for me since traveling is such an ordeal with my food and fatigue issues. And it’s economical, with the conference – including all sessions, keynotes and parties –…
End of summer, with grief and relief
As summer 2015 draws to a close, I am filled alternately with grief and with relief. Now, it’s pretty typical for me to flip-flop from one extreme to another in my emotions in the space of about two minutes. I remember one fall day I took my children to Ticonderoga Farms by myself and thought…
Grounding in fall
This fall I have noticed the leaves without trying so hard and have immersed myself in a lot of interesting activities that seemed to land in my lap. I have been so many great talks and events, and I’ve wanted to write thoughtful and helpful recaps of all of them for my website, Mindful Healthy…
How to talk to depressed people
Memory assistance is one of the best things about blogging. I was looking everywhere for a piece I knew I’d started on what to say and not say to someone who is depressed. When I logged in to update the blog after a nearly season-long hiatus, there was the draft, from July 20, 2014. I’m…
Teaching diversity: tales from public school
Welcome to the July 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Learning About Diversity This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they teach their children to embrace and respect the variety of people and cultures that…
There goes the neighborhood
Missing from my To-Do list today was the item “Watch elderly neighbor get carted away by police.” And yet, unlike many of the things on my To-Do list, this actually happened. And I can’t shake it. It really was just a matter of time. Mimi had seemed to be suffering from dementia since we moved…
Dishing on diapers on TV
A few weeks ago, Robin Shirley, organizer of the amazing Take Back Your Health Conference, pointed out to me that Liz Crenshaw of NBC4’s Consumer Watch needed a group of local moms for a piece. I wrote the producer who told me Liz was doing a story on the cost of diapers. I hoped to…
10-day Yoga Challenge: Day Four: “Surrender”
“Rest your shoulder blades on the back of your heart,” the teacher said. But what if the heart is tender? “Surrender,” she said later, in what felt at once like a welcoming to take a breather and at the same time, almost a dare. Am I capable of surrendering? Can I ever not try so…
Writing while mothering, and writing without Mothering (the magazine)
By now, most readers have probably heard the sad news that Mothering magazine is going to cease publication. If not, read Peggy O’Mara’s explanation here. I found out in an email from the web editor regarding a piece I was writing for Mothering.com, which is still going strong, she said. I was happy to have…
Hirshhorn nurse-in a huge success!
At least I got in some lactivism this weekend! It has been a long string of days with a dramatic, exuberant, clingy, whiny and non-stop-talking almost-five-year-old and a not-much-sleeping, perennially-teething (but happy!) six-month old. So I will save the full report on yesterday’s nurse-in at the Hirshhorn Museum for another time (will link if it…
Feelin’ the Holistic Moms love
What a surprise I got tonight when my Holistic Moms co-leaders and members presented me with flowers and a (gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, refined-sugar-free) cake at our monthly meeting! We decided not to do a huge anniversary party again this year after last year’s blow out, and I wasn’t really missing all the stress! But they…
Solstice celebration — we did it!
I’m so excited that I managed to pull together a solstice celebration this year. At noon on the day of, I talked to my friend and let her know another mom from our Holistic Moms chapter was maybe going to make it. Usually I can’t stand last-minute things, but this time is was great to…
(Parental) craziness at the zoo
I witnessed some unfamiliar and disturbing behavior yesterday at the zoo. I’m not talking about the animals. So much whining, taunting, complaining, aggression, and general crankiness. I’m not talking about children. Some of the most pissy parents were out in force at the National Zoo yesterday, the most gorgeous Columbus Day ever (when arriving after…
Baby’s first photo shoot
Professional photos are not something I’ve pursued for my family. It took me over a year to redeem a free shoot I won from Holistic Moms Northern Virginia chapter‘s one-year anniversary party for pregnant belly shots. When I connected online just a week later with DC-area newcomer Lisa Hager of Red Thread Photography, I was…
Wellness events in October
October is a crazy-busy month for natural-minded health and wellness junkies in and around Washington, DC. Pathways, the free magazine you see at massage therapy centers, health food stores, and the offices of alternative medicine practitioners is having its Natural Living Expo on Sunday, October 3 in Adelphi, Maryland. Folks who like to teach their…
Performance workshop for cesarean and VBAC mamas
A year ago, at the Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage weekend, I saw a staged reading of Karen Brody’s play Michelle Obama: Taskmaster. Now the author of Birth: The Play is holding what sounds like an amazing workshop for moms who have had cesarean sections and VBACs. If I didn’t have a newborn and live…