Overheard in my house this summer: Moi: Honey, why don’t you make chili tonight? DH: OK! Moi: But not too much, OK? Don’t make a full two gallon pot. We will just have to throw it out. DH: Moi: Please do not make too much. DH: Moi: There better be at least 2 inches of […]

I’m feeling more like Mama Bunny than like Mama Bear this week. p.s. Baby Bunny did NOT give permission for this post.

At an appointment when Ted was about five years old, I slipped the pediatrician a note asking him to speak about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. I needed an ally. The doctor broached the topic conversationally. “Ted,” he said, “what is a fruit or vegetable that you really don’t like?” Silence. I was […]

Today is my anniversary of motherhood, otherwise known as my older child’s birthday. I’ve been thinking a lot about parenthood recently. The following warning has already been delivered to the relevant people: You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved […]

Fifteen years ago, I attended my mother’s retirement party. For thirty years, my mother worked in various staff roles at a large public university. She was a generous mentor to many junior colleagues, and she was a trusted confidante to academic administrators. At the party, people had the chance to say a few words about […]

A childhood friend posted a 40-minute video of a rebbetzin giving a public lecture about love. Let’s break down that sentence. Childhood friend = good. 40-minute video = not good! rebbetzin = what is that? The friend is an Orthodox Jew. Rebbetzin sounds religious. This is NOT going to be for me. public lecture = […]

I don’t study issues of gender, but I do think about them. Lately, I’ve had a new opportunity for thinking about gender and leadership because, for the first time in thirty years, my boss is a woman. Hers was an internal promotion, so she had been a peer. It’s been fascinating for me to observe […]