My (fully vaccinated) parents are here for a visit and I am elated. All I wanted for Mother’s Day was a brief break from parenting and all my mom wanted was some time with her grandchild. So, today I got to sleep in while she took care of the kiddo. We both win and get to sit down to some scrumptious waffles my husband is making.
I understand that Mother’s Day can bring up many different emotions, so I want to celebrate the day by moving the apostrophe.
On this Mothers’ Day, I want to thank everyone who mothers.
To my own mom, thank you for being you.
To my mother-in-law, thank you for treating me like your own.
To the women who take care of my kiddo at daycare, thank you for making her happy and allowing me to enjoy my own career.
To the moms I chat with regularly, thank you for your advice, support, and hilarious TikTok videos.
To the women who want to be moms but can’t, for whatever reason, I see your struggles. Thank you for sharing your stories, strength, and resilience.
To the women who choose not to be moms, thank you for showing others that there are multiple paths in life.
I just finished Why Have Kids? A New Mom Explores the Truth of Parenting and Happiness by Jessica Valenti. I’m a fangirl of Ms. Valenti because of her staunch feminism and logical reasoning around how society and politics often fail women. Her writing is easy to read while being thought-provoking and, occasionally, funny. This book clearly illustrates why a) so many moms are burnt out, unhappy, and lost, and b) so many other women are opting out of motherhood entirely.
This title was written pre-pandemic, but I think Ms. Valenti’s arguments have only be reinforced by current events.
Thailand's shrimp parade. [National Geographic]
Pictures from the global race to vaccinate. [The Atlantic]
The pandemic has helped children better understand their adults' work. [WaPo]
The little helicopter on Mars gets to keep flying. [NYT]
Belgian farmer accidentally makes the country a little bit bigger. [CNN]
The rise of Pfizer elitism. [The Atlantic]
Why we need blankets when we sleep. [Apartment Therapy]
What's your productivity style? [Trello]
NYC is opting to cancel snow days and people are, understandably, not happy about it. [WaPo]
A long look at the soundtracks of Starbucks. [Jezebel]
The final episode in Planet Money's quest to make a superhero is ah-mazing. [Planet Money]
50 years of NPR. [Up First]
Reparations by Venmo? [Code Switch]
From the Archive Deep Dive: A look at the debate around free speech. [The Daily]
Continuing our adventures in space, we watched the Netflix film Stowaway. As with the other space things we've watched as of late, if you can ignore the gapping holes of "NASA totally wouldn't do that," the story is enjoyable.
We're almost halfway through the Away series. It's actually less of a space show and more of a workplace drama. I kind of like it.
We tried a new slow cooker recipe that turned out to be a winner. This crockpot sweet and sour chicken is quick, easy, and delicious. We threw in some frozen peas and served it over cauliflower rice.
Our kiddo loves quesadillas. For our meatless Monday dish, I made these Greek quesadillas with tzatziki. It used to be in regular rotation but, somehow, feel out of our routine. The kiddo liked it, so it's going back in.
After reading this story in the Washington Post, I joined the Traveling Diary Tour. It’ll be awhile before I get it, but I am excited to be a part of this project.
I’m attending (and presenting at) a four day virtual conference this week. Zoom fatigue will be strong.