Essay

Whenever my son and I had big disagreements, I would walk away and give myself a timeout to think.I felt guilty for abandoning him in those moments, but I had to prioritize my hurt.Now, as an adult, he said that move was my best parenting technique.When my son was younger, he was always quick to…

I'm the breadwinner for both myself and my partner.I feel unfulfilled by my full-time data entry job, but I do work as a writer on the side.Writing helps me find meaning, but I do worry sometimes I'm overworking myself.I live with my partner, and I'm the breadwinner in our house. At my data entry job,…

I grew up in a conservative home where we didn't speak openly about topics like sex.I'm doing things differently, answering my kids' questions in honest, age-appropriate ways. I've spoken openly with my 6-year-old son about death, periods, menopause, and climate change.When my 6-year-old son saw my tampons in the bathroom and asked what they were,…

I've always preferred brutal honesty, so I told a total stranger that his fly was down. He bought me a beer and a corndog, but I wasn't looking for a relationship. We've been together for almost 20 years now. "Your fly is down." That's the first thing I ever said to my now-husband. In my…

I'm a millennial and my aunt is a boomer. We're great travel companions despite our 33-year age gap.We both prefer slow-paced trips and like to wake up and take breaks around the same times.Traveling together has only brought us closer, and I look forward to planning more trips.My aunt and I might seem like an…

I met my ex-husband in the office over 20 years ago.In 2018, I returned to that company, but I've been working from home.Now that the company has issued an RTO mandate, I have to see my ex-husband in the office.Like many people, I recently started watching the TV show "Severance." In it, workers at a…

When my kids left for college I wanted to know more about their lives.I started a silly game to get them to engage with me over text while at college.I still would love life updates from them, but our fun exchanges keep us connected.Many parents of teens and young adults may relate to this twist…

I don't want my young daughter to grow up to be a "Sephora kid" who is obsessed with makeup.I'm teaching her young about the dangers of the beauty industry and how she can damage her skin.I'm also teaching her that beauty isn't tied to makeup, and filters make people look perfect.I love skincare. I love…

I pushed my daughter to set her sites high and apply to a school that was out of her comfort zone. She was accepted to Tulane, but the financial aid package offered was smaller than we had expected.Telling her that she couldn't go to the dream school that I pushed her to apply to broke…

My 15-year-old son took the PSATs a few months ago and received a college brochure shortly after.While I'm not quite ready for him to go to college, I also want to help him through it.He doesn't seem ready to think about college, either, but that's OK. I'm here for him when he is.When I had…