Within the first week of Bea’s life, I started thinking about children in orphanages. Every time I nursed her at night, so every two hours, I thought, “Who is picking up those children? Who is answering their cries every two hours?” Of course I’d thought about … [Read more...] about Tender Age
Mothers
Ali Dodd and Paid Leave
In 2015, when her son Shepard was only 11 weeks old, Ali Dodd did what most moms in this country must do--she returned to work and left her son in care of an in-home daycare. Dodd had no paid leave. She and her husband had worked it out so that she could take 10 weeks, but on the … [Read more...] about Ali Dodd and Paid Leave
A Mother’s Gaze
The other day I was staring at my daughter's face, as I often do, trying to memorize it, while also admiring its every feature. Her huge brown eyes and long lashes, the hairs between her eyebrows, the cute little button nose, the pursed lips, the gap between her teeth, her smooth … [Read more...] about A Mother’s Gaze
The Case for Support
(I wrote this when my daughter was 15 months old. She is now 3 years old. I think it’s crucial to interrupt the narratives about pregnancy and motherhood. Pregnancy is not only mystical and beautiful and mysterious. Yes, it can be those things. But it’s also a medical condition. … [Read more...] about The Case for Support