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The Easy Way (Ha!)
Infertility isn’t funny—but the situations it creates? Absolutely are. The Lighter Side of Infertility series will share some of the ridiculous, roll‑your‑eyes, laugh‑so‑you‑don’t‑cry stories from IVF life. Because sometimes the only way through it is to laugh. I used to think “the easy way” meant candlelight, Marvin Gaye, and good timing. Not a sterile room,… Continue reading
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Schrödinger’s Freckle
First things first: I didn’t have surgery. The surgery I was supposed to have, a neat little laser repair for what was confidently labeled a retinal tear, turned out to be unnecessary. My ophthalmologist had spotted something concerning and sent me to a retina specialist. I followed the chain like a well-behaved patient checking off… Continue reading
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The Story Behind My Firearms Training
When I wrote about my firearms training, it inspired the kind of thoughtful dialogue I always hope for. Many readers shared that they weren’t comfortable with guns themselves but respected where I was coming from. Your reflections led me to look inward and ask again: why did I, someone raised to fear weapons, decide to… Continue reading
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Retina Roulette and Keeping the Streak Alive
This afternoon I have a consultation with a retina specialist. If it turns out I have a tear or detachment, I’ll need a same-day surgical procedure. That would mean one of my eyes will be out of commission for a few days. Per the accounts of everyone I know, I may need to lie face-down… Continue reading
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Politeness, Professionalism, and Preparedness
I used to believe that good intentions were enough to keep me safe. Then the world reminded me that awareness, not innocence, is what protects us. General James Mattis once said, “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” To many people, that quote probably sounds brutal or even alarming.… Continue reading
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In the Parking Lot of Hope
I ran out of medication. Not the kind that can wait a week or two, but the small, vital vials that measure hope in milliliters. The IVF clinic loaned me enough to get by, an act of grace disguised as protocol. When the pharmacy called to say my refill to replace the borrowed meds was… Continue reading
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Dust Mites and Divine Timing
Oura’s done it again. Earlier this week, my ring congratulated me for logging eighty minutes of “restorative time.” According to Oura, I was in a deep state of calm. In reality, I was parked in an ophthalmologist’s chair with my corneas being prodded, my eyeballs photographed, and my pupils blown wide enough to swallow daylight.… Continue reading
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Anatomy of a Wish: A Letter to My Future Child
My dear, I’ve started to understand that wishing isn’t something I do; it’s something I am. It lives in my pulse, steady and patient, carrying your name even though you are not here yet. Each morning, that wish wakes with me. It moves through my day quietly, like breath. I feel it in my body,… Continue reading
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Steadying Each Other
I learned yesterday ago that an old friend from college—someone I met in the “affordable” apartment on the wrong side of the tracks—had a stroke. The message came quietly, almost apologetically, as if bad news could slip past me unnoticed if phrased gently enough. It didn’t. It hasn’t stopped echoing since. We met my junior… Continue reading
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Whatever Happened to Real Professional Community?
I’m letting a professional membership lapse this year. It costs several hundred dollars for the year, and after some reflection, I just can’t justify renewing it. On paper, it sounded promising: access to tools, resources, mentors, and a professional community. But in practice, it fell short. Many of the members are late in their careers,… Continue reading
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The Tragic Tale of My Tamagotchi’s Untimely Demise
One Christmas morning in the late ’90s, buried between Beanie Babies and a pack of scented gel pens, I unwrapped a small, egg-shaped toy from my aunt. She had four sons and a not-so-quiet longing for a daughter to spoil. Every year she gave me something unapologetically girly: lip gloss shaped like fruit, butterfly barrettes,… Continue reading
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Relearning How to Live in My Body
I used to think healing would be a finish line. For years, my life contracted around my symptoms. I measured days in flares and crashes, in the distance between the bed and the bathroom, in the number of foods I could eat without consequence. I lived inside a body that felt like fragile machinery, too… Continue reading
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The Freshness Protocol
Infertility isn’t funny—but the situations it creates? Absolutely are. The Lighter Side of Infertility series will share some of the ridiculous, roll‑your‑eyes, laugh‑so‑you‑don’t‑cry stories from IVF life. Because sometimes the only way through it is to laugh. We sat across from our reproductive endocrinologist, clutching the embryo report like a kid bringing home straight C’s… Continue reading
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When a Friend Lists You as Family
There are moments in life that seem small on the surface but land deep in your heart. Today, my best friend texted to ask if she could list me as an emergency contact for her five-year-old starting kindergarten. A simple, practical question, but one that made me stop and take a breath. Because what she… Continue reading
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Finding Our Food Groove: Cooking for Two with Different Diets and Allergies
Our kitchen used to look like a cooking show that had completely lost control. One pan sizzling with turkey sausage, another crisping tofu, a pot threatening to boil over. It wasn’t pure chaos; just the sound of two totally different diets trying to share one stove. Cooking has always been my love language, but when… Continue reading
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existential ergonomics 
