Blurring the borders between motherhood and daughterhood — It’s 2:43am when my four-year-old son climbs into my bed. In the darkness, he shuffles into the room and crawls from the foot of the bed up to my pillow, saying loudly: “Mama, hug me.” I do. …

Untangling society’s expectations from my own experiences — cw: pregnancy loss Recently I was at the playground with my son, watching another mother calm her son during a tantrum while also keeping her baby daughter from smashing fistfuls of sand in her mouth as she scooted rapidly away. …

On figuring out how to face the world again — Last week I got a haircut for the first time since October. I scheduled that cut in the fall, immediately after realizing that COVID’s second wave was upon us in Berlin. It seemed inevitable that everything was going to shut down again, and it did, a few weeks later. I’ve…

It’s time to re-think America’s relationship with social support. — Germany is in the midst of its second full lockdown to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Daycares and schools are closed. Employers are required to allow employees to work from home if at all possible. N95 masks are mandatory in some parts of the country. This lockdown, currently called…

On aging, becoming, and the search for good hand cream — Lately, I’ve been looking at my hands a lot. They’ve changed this past year, or maybe I have. Perhaps it’s the fanatical hand washing that’s creased them in places I didn’t know hands could crease. I’ve been staring at them since last March, back when said fanatical hand washing started…

Looking to the trees for winter lockdown inspiration — It’s that awkward week between Christmas and New Year’s, and I’m doing a lot of staring out the windows. For the first time in my life, I have a job that’s let me take these days off, and the whole city is in the midst of a full Coronavirus lockdown…

Embracing the German obsession with fresh air — Germany just announced a second full lockdown. For the second time this year, businesses, stores, schools, and daycares have to shut down for a mandatory four weeks. When the first lockdown happened, our lives stopped completely. …

On letting go, letting be, and pumpkin pie. — Until a few years ago, Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday. As a kid, I spent the weeks of November getting excited for the pumpkin pie my mom would make when the day finally came. Her pie always had a premade Pillsbury crust, and the recipe came from the back of…

On learning to write for the internet (and never reading the comments) — It’s a strange feeling to have an essay you’ve written be seen by 13,000 people. Especially when the essay you wrote before that was only seen by 34. It’s exciting, yes. And also a little terrifying. A couple of days before the election, I sat down to write something about…