“Woe to the mother who speaks of child-rearing, For lo, her children will misbehave. They will wail and scream in the market, They will poke eyes and pull hair. Even strangers will reprimand them, and Their cuteness will shield them not.” If that’s not received wisdom, it should be. While I’m not a superstitious person … Read more
“Woe to the mother who speaks of child-rearing, For lo, her children will misbehave. They will wail and scream in the market, They will poke eyes and pull hair. Even strangers will reprimand them, and Their cuteness will shield them not.” If that’s not received wisdom, it should be. While I’m not a superstitious person … Read more
This summer the District of Columbia City Council attempted to force District employers to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives and certain abortifacients. Understandably, Catholic leaders asked that the customary conscience clause be inserted in the law, exempting those with religious objections. Angrily waving a picture of the pope at his audience—including the Most Rev. … Read more
What do women want? In politics, the answers are as predictable as they are condescending: handsome and/or earth-toned candidates; smaller kindergarten classes; Hillary. As Martha would say, each of these seems “a good thing,” at least in a gauzy, soft-focused sort of way. Yet without more, all lack the capacity to resonate when the focus … Read more
My husband and I always draw stares of shocked disbelief when others hear that we voluntarily chose to move our family from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. “Why on earth…?” complete strangers will begin, gamely trying to keep their opinions of our fragile mental health to themselves. Usually, I mumble something about housing prices, being … Read more