News — Spoke

Photo: Joyce Panda on Unsplash “Alexa, how do I go to a friend house and not germs?” My heart sank. My incredibly resilient, almost-four-year-old had had enough of sheltering in place. I had seen earlier signs of fatigue and didn’t realize it. A couple of weeks ago he had started inviting the entire cast of Paw Patrol over to the house to stay for dinner. Yes, he regularly engages in pretend play, but this was different. He made a big deal over opening the door to the house each time they “came over” and welcoming them in. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on all of...

Mike Tyson famously said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Clearly, he was talking about parenthood. Well, maybe not when he said it . . . but it applies nonetheless. Trust me. If you are reading this, then, in all likelihood, you are a parent or expecting to be one at some point in the future and have already had your plan crumble to pieces, or you are delusional and think that you can defy the odds and that your plan will be the one that doesn’t fail.   Can’t you hear the sound of naivety...

Photo: Suzanne Weerts He was nine pounds when I met him. Somehow I’d squeezed all nine of those pounds out of me with no medication. “Hello you!” I said, holding him in my arms as the night nurse tried to put him in the bassinet. “You should get some rest,” she said. “No, I’ll just keep him right here by my side.” I wasn’t afraid of crushing him in my sleep like I was with his older sister. I wanted to drink him in and imprint his utter perfection alone in that peaceful hospital room. I touched his soft cheek...