Empowering songs to pump you up after a break-up (or anytime)
Even if you’re not using it to run, empowering, upbeat music could help get you through something like a breakup (or a job rejection, or almost any disappointment) and remember how awesome you are. These tracks are more about loving yourself, surviving, not needing anyone else, or feeling powerful, and less about hating an ex. I’m going to share some up-tempo, self-empowering songs, then I’ll open it up to the Homies and see what they suggest.
Get drunk, have sex everyday, buy new underwear, and other infertility insights
Infertility sucks, no two ways about it. Some parts of this have made me angry and bitter, but the hilarity that has ensued during the surreal conversations I’ve had about it has at least given me some uncomfortable stories to tell my future progeny and their prom dates. I plan to use them as part of the explanation I give for why they don’t have a college fund and why we live in a van down by the river.
What do you do with permanent reminders of your ex?
I saw the Offbeat Bride post about showing off tattoos in your wedding dress. It got me thinking about one of my tattoos. Specifically, the matching tattoo my ex and I got years before I met my husband. Then I got to thinking… I wonder how many other Homies carry around tattoos or pieces of their exes through their relationships?
Palliative care, cross-country moves, and whiskey in a Mason jar: Ariel Gore’s “The End of Eve”
Ariel Gore’s memoir, The End of Eve, describes the complicated role of caretaker thrust upon her when her mother Eve is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Their relationship has been fraught with emotional manipulation and abuse since Ariel’s childhood. Now that she’s dying, Ariel has to confront their relationship whether she’s ready to or not — and she has to move across the country to do it.
How to live with a passionate [read: obsessive, driven, fanatical, and somewhat egotistical] partner
When I say the word “passionate,” I’m not talking about the down on your knees, overly-romantic type fanfare. I am referring to how I describe a person who is passionate about whatever specific interest they hold dear to their heart. Other words such as obsessive, driven, fanatical, and somewhat egotistical also come to mind. What if these tend to describe your partner?
The most bad-ass, super-personalized Father’s Day gift of all time
If you’re wondering what to get your dad for Father’s Day and thinking “what do I get for the man who has everything?” allow me to answer that question for you with the most bad-ass, super-personalized gift of all time. I got this for my father last year, and he totally dug it. Here’s what you do…
How my pink-loving son made me confront my weird gender biases
In our household, the lines of the past that steadfastly identified what was considered “man” and “woman” responsibilities were more opaque. It’s not the easiest job in the world, but to be honest I felt pretty good about being what most people would label a “modern dad” and I wore that title like a badge of honor. My title was put to the test however the day my wife brought a particular hula monkey toy home for my son…
On divorce and the “you just didn’t try hard enough” myth
I didn’t know what to expect from friends and family, and strangers when I announced my divorce. I had kept many of my relationship “issues” away from family — not wanting to harm our image as a couple should we work things out — so it came as a surprise to some of them. Though, for the most part, family and friends (especially) have been supportive, there is a certain rhetoric around divorce that really started to bother me.