Category Archives: Uncategorized

I became a mother at 4:33 p.m. on a Tuesday. It was a short delivery, via cesarean. Our little one flipped in the last week of pregnancy and was breeched. This was far from the natural, unmedicated birth with dim lighting and classical music that I had envisioned, but it was our safest option. IContinue reading “A New Mom”

This is the fifth installment of six about our struggles with infertility. Read parts one, two, three, and four. This is our story, nothing more, but we share it to add another voice to this often unspoken struggle. There was no plan after the third IUI. If it didn’t work, we wouldn’t be able toContinue reading “Fertility Story: Part 5 – The Final Test”

This is the third installment of six about our struggles with infertility. Read parts one and two. This is our story, nothing more, but we share it to add another voice to this often unspoken struggle. They say athletes should have short-term memories. To continue after a setback, you must forget the failure. You canContinue reading “Fertility Story: Part 3 – The Second IUI”

Chicago was a curve ball. In the winter of 2014, after returning home from my Peace Corps service in Lesotho, I took a non-profit job in Washington, D.C., and relocated to the nation’s capital. As a wander lusting youth, I had long hoped to end up on the East Coast, and there I was, inContinue reading “Goodbye, Chicago”

I took the call in the main part of the Student Union. It was a Tuesday afternoon, so I was going to spend the next 10 hours in The Collegian office, which had terrible cell service, editing and revising the latest issue. The call came in, and I rushed up stairs to take it. “WeContinue reading “Embracing Uncertainty”

A butcher’s knife met the edge of my middle finger last night and left a fleshy wound. I was cutting sweet potatoes with a blade that probably wasn’t sharp enough for the job (or maybe it wasn’t the right kind of knife, I don’t know, I always say I will eventually learn how to properlyContinue reading “Butterflies in Waiting”

In January 2011, I was evacuated from my first Peace Corps country of service, Niger, due to terrorism activity. We were at a training in a village outside the capital when the decision came in from D.C., and a day later I was on United Nations plane back to the region where I lived andContinue reading “The Good of 2020”

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s the day we get to wear earth-toned sweaters, eat a bunch of deeply satisfying and comforting foods, drink wine at 11 a.m., and take multiple naps throughout the day. It’s the kickoff to the festive season, but it comes with no obligations. Just gathering, indulging, and giving thanks. EveryContinue reading “Thanksgiving in 2020”

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went to a friend’s house for a bonfire in their lovely city backyard. That’s how we see friends these days—on computer screens or outside. We sat in lawn chairs at appropriate distances and wore masks if we needed to use the bathroom or get a drink. WeContinue reading “Letting go of the Narrative”

This week is stuffed with beginnings. A fresh month is upon us, one that ends in ‘ber’ which are arguably the best months. Wednesday is the first day of my last year of graduate school. And, today I kick off a months-long virtual race across the world with some of my neighborhood running friends. IContinue reading “New Beginnings”