parenthood

When I nearly scorched my face with an iron: Postpartum depression

Postpartum depression is a terrible but very common condition that becomes lost in our need to make the conversation about a woman’s journey from pregnancy to motherhood positive and sanguine.   Because of these rosy conversations women often assume having a baby will be nothing but joy and cuddles. It should come naturally…

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When Pakistan is Safer than North Carolina

Remember the clock kid, Ahmed?  He was honored by President Obama for his ingenuity and scholastic achievement after he was put in handcuffs and arrested at his own school for the same. He lives with his family in Qatar now, because of safety concerns after he became a target of…

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Dear Neighbor: I Take Your Trump Sign Personally

Dear Neighbor: I want you to know that I take your Trump sign personally.  I take it personally because I have a vagina, or as your favored candidate might say, a “p***y.”  My daughter has one, too.  And I figure if you’re okay with a p***y-grabber for President, you might…

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American Muslim Children Struggle in School: Impact of the 2016 Election

This election cycle has been difficult to experience, even for adults.  Civil conversations and respect for diversity have been sidelined, and the loudest voices in politics and on television now are frighteningly extreme. Unsurprisingly the hateful rhetoric has filtered into American schools.  The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has just…

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Choosing a childfree present

This piece is a follow up to the essay, “Accidentally Childfree”.
“Do you want to be in your marriage?” She asked me, matter-of-factly.
For months I wrestled with this question, always too afraid to broach it during daylight hours. But here we were, in her bright little office, and her words flooded the room.
On that day, I did not have an answer for her.

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Cloudy with a chance of suhoor

The past six Ramadans, I rise before the sun does. It’s not to eat suhoor, nor do I prepare it for my husband. I trudge by him as he groggily slurps down a bowl of O’s, we exchange a look of mutual exhaustion. It’s a call that summons me awake, reminding me that there’s something greater than sleep. Motherhood.

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Father’s Duh

Becoming a dad ruined my life. Now, before you fire up an angry e-mail, delete my blog from your bookmarks, or un-follow me on Twitter, let me offer some context. I’ve been a dad for about five-and-a-half years now, and with this past weekend marking the annual occurrence that is Father’s Day, I got to thinking about just how wildly off course my life has veered…

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