I remember Michelle Otero as the girl who could do everything. She wrote for the school newspaper, made all-state in band, sang in chorus, acted in drama, was a member of student council, honor society, the prom committee and served as student body president before going on to Harvard and, later, Vermont College.
I hadn’t [...]

I have a niece who for the longest time referred to pickles as “shupet.” Like filet or valet or CABERNET. In fact, for the first five years of her life Megan spoke the most adorable make-believe FRENCH I’ve ever heard. Megan is now 13 and there isn’t A TRACE of foreign in her day-to-day speech [...]

Last January, I posted a piece about The Anti-Gym here at Mile High Mamas. The feedback from readers ranged from disgust at the “in your face” approach to praise for the very same.
Then, about a week and a half ago, I received a most unexpected comment on that piece–from one of the actresses in [...]

My skin has so many moles, I nearly qualify as my own animal print. I’m waiting on a World Wildlife Federation panel to approve my application. By next fall, you could be seeing Gretchen-print hot pants, bustiers, and gladiator shoes on D-list celebrities and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Because I am liberally sprinkled with moles in all [...]

I have always had a weight problem. I am a tall, big bones German girl who is NEVER going to be a waif. It’s taken a long time to accept it, and I still struggle with my weight, but I have learned to appreciate the positives of this Amazon-ish body I was born with.
Back to [...]

School is sucking my son’s love of reading down a greasy, hair-lined drain and I’m afraid it won’t come back.
My handwringing may seem dramatic and over-the-top, but you didn’t just spend three hours trying to a second-grader to read a book for his homework. This is a boy who taught himself how to read [...]

Rejection always has been a hot button issue for me. It wounds more than anything could, twisting my heart like a dishrag and dripping all the dirty sudsy water right into my stomach, giving me a very queasy feeling. Oddly enough, I actually think rejection is one of the things that led me to having [...]