Beauty in sadness: reflecting on the hospice in which my mother passed away
My mother, an RN since 1968, was a pioneer of childbirth education in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. She was one of the first people in Texas to ever teach Lamaze as an alternative to childbirth while under anesthesia (the status quo of the 1970s). She earned her Masters in Nursing while my brother and I were in high school. She wrote hundreds of articles about comfort methods during pregnancy and childbirth, about exercise during pregnancy, and childcare in the first year of life. When she was admitted to Christus Sister Mary Hospice on September 21, 2012, she had spent the last five months in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities battling heart valve failure and congestive heart failure.
My badass seven-year-old hero saved the chickens — and his mom
Everyone wants to be a hero — a badass. Few things compare with that feeling of knowing you were there, just at the right moment, and completely changed the outcome of a situation doomed for darkness. I could argue that maybe it’s this need that fuels motherhood, because being a parent requires being a badass many times a day.
My retired midwife mom delivered a baby on a ferry yesterday
The title pretty much says it all. My mom, a retired midwife and midwifery educator (and yes, she’s written for Offbeat Families), delivered a baby girl on the Bainbridge Island to Seattle ferry run yesterday afternoon. Here’s the news report from the Seattle Times…
How do you get you and your partner’s sex drives back in sync?
We’ve all been there some time or other: you and your partner have been together for several years and things in the hay have begun to take the backseat to more “important” things like work, hobbies, hanging out with friends, cleaning the house etc. Maybe the relationship itself is great, with long conversations, cuddles and whatever floats your boats, but sex is something you save for Saturdays and New Year’s Eve. So how do you get the intimate part of your relationship back?
I’m genderqueer and pregnant: how my tattoos are helping me maintain my identity
Throughout the years I have experienced many different responses to my tattoo work. My tattoos are very personal — the experiences and tattoos themselves are very spiritual to me and all my work has deep symbolic meaning. I’ve recently found myself 35 and pregnant (something I never thought would happen), and my pregnancy has uncovered another benefit to my tattoos.
What kind of sleepover rules should we establish for our bisexual teen?
A year-and-a-half ago our then fifteen-year-old daughter told me she was bisexual. She asked if a girl she’s experimented with can spend the night as a friend, but we’re not sure how to answer her question.
Got a princess in the house? Here’s how you can make a felt and tulle princess hat
I am the mother of a (surprisingly, at least to me) very girly-girl, and I have very reluctantly entered the sparkly, pink, flowery world of princesses and twirly skirts and all other such fancy things. Since this seems to be all that my wee girl thinks about these days, I’m just going with it, trying to also emphasize the importance of independence, smarts, strength, and a good old-fashioned mess. While it’s far from my everyday, fancy is quite fun! So I’m letting my sweet one guide me on this sparkly adventure.
How can we work pre-kid hobbies into our life with a toddler?
We have a wonderful one-year-old daughter who we love hanging out with, but we find ourselves feeling stuck at home. Neither my partner or I feel that satisfied, renewed or entertained by our weekends as we tiptoe around nap times, clean up after our toddler or each other, and come to terms with the fact that spending a lot of time sewing, home brewing, driving, or vegging out on Dr. Who marathons is very difficult (and not so desirable) with an active toddler. How do you accommodate pre-kid hobbies into post-kid reality?