Because in Euphoria the men are taking their turn — I’m watching Euphoria right now. People warned me against it because I have a seventeen-year-old daughter. I’ve heard people say that it glorifies drug use and casual sex. …

The evolution of memory — This past week I went to Chicago to spend time with my mother and stepfather. My mother is 80 and my stepfather is 93. About fifteen years ago they moved to a 100-unit apartment a block from the house where I grew up. …

Contemplating the middle ground — For the last year, I have been working as a contact tracer. This is not my life’s passion, it was just a stop-gap job to transition from selling my business. I wanted a job and the pandemic was on in full force so it worked out. About ten months into…

Lessons from my middle-aged bikini. — Last week I looked online for “bikinis for middle-aged bodies.” My body has changed. My middle corridor is like a barrel. I look at my daughter’s slender waist and wonder why I didn’t wear a bikini when I could, when my body looked like hers. Bikinis are so much easier…

That one true moment of parental competence — I just read a beautiful essay by Ann Patchett called, “There Are No Children Here.” The essay is about her lifelong knowing that she never wanted to have children and the ever-present pressure and assumption that somehow, deep down, she actually did want to be a mother. Patchett writes after…

Getting to shore, one stroke at a time — I have COVID. Along with half of the people I know and millions of other people in this country and around the world, I have COVID right now. For me, this means holing up in my basement and isolating myself to protect my partner from getting sick. I’ve watched way…

What happens when the screen shuts down. — Last weekend my friend and I took our daughters on a short trip to look at colleges. The girls just finished their junior years, their first semi-normal year since they started high school. …

A time-limited period of temporary insanity — My stepfather had a friend who described adolescence as, “a temporary period of insanity followed by an excellent prognosis.” Menopause is a lot like this. Big and little shifts happen and if we don’t remind ourselves that we are in a period of temporary insanity, it can feel totally overwhelming. …

Understanding menopause — About five years ago, my friend Kate and I birthed the organization Launch Your Pause. We created and hosted a three-day retreat, Put Some Claws in Your Pause, offering women at all stages of menopause an opportunity to learn about, explore and celebrate all things menopause. …