Years ago, when we first decided to homeschool, I didn’t know a single homeschooler. I was desperate to find community for the kids. I wanted them to have friends; I didn’t want them to be isolated, didn’t want to make them weird. We started going to a Park Day in Berkeley when H was just [...]

Recently, I went to an opening for the artist Christine Ferrouge, who “paints psychological narratives based on her three daughters.” I came to know Christine years ago as a fellow homeschooling parent. Isn’t her work moving? She’s doing in paint what I try to do in words–capture the independence and uniqueness of the people I [...]

In 2017 I wrote an essay about longing. I submitted it to a bunch of publications, like I did with several other essays I wrote that year. No luck. I’d come to call 2017 my year of rejection, though that year I did have one acceptance—for the essay about longing. Trouble was, the editor wanted [...]

standing on the shoulders of *my* giant Hi you! It’s been quite a while. When I wrote here last, it was mid-July and the noon sun was directly overhead and my sunflowers were tall and working as landing pads for my bees. That post was my 15th anniversary post and I made a promise to [...]

1. Fifteen years ago today, this blog was born. It was the summer of 2008, just before the U.S. economy crashed and Obama was first elected. Mamma Mia! was in theaters, Instagram was still two years away, and my kids were 6, 12, 16. A different time. 2. Is blog even a word anymore? These days it’s all [...]

I’ve been thinking about “lazy parenting” a lot. Partly because I asked the question for this edition’s post: What’s a “lazy” thing you do/did as a parent, caregiver or teacher that ended up benefitting the kids?  But then the phrase kept showing up, in different spaces. I’ve also been thinking about my kids making forts. Different spaces, [...]