When Asa was a baby, he was a crier. He was one of those generally fussy, frustrated babies who always seemed to want something just out of reach. I was rarely able to give him what he wanted for as long as he wanted it. For instance, once I tried to see how long he …
I’ve been writing about education policy for coming up on a decade, and it never ceases to amaze me. In so many ways, I will be the first to admit I’m over-saturated on certain (still very important!) storylines. Charter v. district. Teachers v. admin. Parents v. admin. Test scores. Hear me clearly. These topics are …
I love catching up with friends from college. But every I do, it takes me about a week to remember that I’m 38. I’m married to the man of my dreams. My children are hilarious. My job kicks all the ass. Just like going home makes you revert to being a kid who bickers with …
One of the most frustrating parts of being a kid is all the uneven feedback. Adults gets to grade, punish, and reprimand you, and you don’t get to weigh in on their behavior at all. Even though we all know other adults, and we know our behavior definitely merits occasional, *clears throat*, feedback. So we’ve …
A lot of churches are struggling right now. In addition to the people leaving for reasons unrelated, the pandemic got many of us out of the rhythm of weekly attendance. But what’s more, when we fell out of the rhythm, we realized that we felt something else. We felt relieved. Some have told me they …
As I’ve talked to other parents going through various kinds of faith shifts or deconstructions or just changes in perspective, we often muse on how our kids are not okay with this murky grey. Kids like a good answer. They want to know whether something is real or fake. True or false. Good or bad. …
During the 2020 campaign season, Moira joined me on a few late afternoon walks, exercising the dog, or dropping something at her grandmother’s nearby. Yards were littered with signs, of course, and Moira was aghast to see Trump signs along the way. We’d made no secret about our disdain for the incumbent, and she’d gathered …
As my faith shifted and changed, I found myself in what I could call the borderlands. I vacillated between conservative evangelicalism and affirmation of queer identity, egalitarianism, and solidarity with my BIPOC neighbors in a way that runs counter to capitalism and nationalism in many ways. I’d always leaned toward acceptance in relationships, but when …
When you have kids, you want to give them the world. It’s biology, it’s social, it’s personal. It’s love. When Moira was born, I immediately began doing all the things to give her the best start science could manufacture. All the books, stimulation, language exposure, you name it. There were little things we could do …
In the faith system I came from, not wanting sinners (i.e. Democrats) to burn in hell was a sign of weakness. It was mushy. You know what else was weak? Girls. That’s why we couldn’t be pastors. So what do you do if you’re a girl who wants to be seen as strong, logical, rational, …
Go to hell…jk, please don’t…jk, there’s no hell…jk jk jk patriarchy, ugh. Read More »