Originally posted on RELEVANT. At the heart of of NBC’s Emmy-nominated drama This Is Us is a saint. Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) may not be holier than the next man, but Ventimiglia plays the part with such unvarnished tenderness, viewers either wish they could be Jack, marry him, or have a father like him. His... Continue Reading →
Originally published on No Sidebar We didn’t mean to move to one of the hottest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. A mixture of chance and necessity pushed us there––we had moved back home to LA from a stint in Colorado and found we could no longer afford to live in our old neighborhood in Pasadena. We... Continue Reading →
Originally published on RELEVANT. Netflix’s show The Letdown, an import from Australia, offers viewers a seat in such a support group, providing an inside look at the raw, early days of motherhood through a comedic lens. Audrey (Allison Bell) is two months into motherhood, still in that surreal, sleep-deprived state that looks a lot like survival... Continue Reading →
Originally posted on Sojourners The most common reaction to Netflix’s Queer Eye is tears. Twitter is full of comments such as, “I cry half a dozen times every episode!” and Instagram users post stories of their teary faces as they watch. For season two, Netflix leverages this emotive response on their promo poster with the header, “I’m... Continue Reading →
Jo March, the protagonist in Little Women, has long been a sort of patron saint of writing for me. Ever since my first introduction to Little Women with a screening of the 1994 movie starring Winona Ryder as Jo when I was 10 years old, I found myself identifying with Jo: her drive to tell... Continue Reading →
Originally published on the MOPS International blog. Like many churchgoing couples who become parents, we stopped attending services after the birth of our first daughter. We couldn’t figure out how to make it work while our infant was taking four naps a day; and any time we did go, I ended up listening to the... Continue Reading →
Originally posted on The Art of Simple. Self care should be simple. Carve out some time, then use it to do what fills you up. But I’ve found if I have a couple hours “off” on a Saturday during naptime, I’m torn. Should I hike? Go shopping and treat myself? Meet a friend for lunch?... Continue Reading →
One of my favorite openings of any film is Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (#guiltypleasure), where we see several scenes of the four girlfriends growing up through high school and preparing to move on toward college. Over shots of the friends in blue and gold caps and gowns at graduation, the protagonist Carmen describes... Continue Reading →
When my mom (super generously) invited my little family on a Disney cruise to celebrate her 60th birthday, my first thought was excitement (of course!) and my second? Absolute dread. My daughter was only 18 months at the time, but would be freshly 2 years old on the trip. How would I survive a... Continue Reading →
