I remember everyone asking what I was going to do for pre-school when my kid was two. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. At the time, I was living at home with my parents in the suburbs and commuting into the city for a full-time job that paid me $17 an hour. The plan …
Once Upon a Time
Last night I went to see one of my favorite bands play. I was trying to remember when I first started listening to them and I think it was around 2002. That was seventeen years ago. While I didn't WANT to turn 40, I didn't have a breakdown over it. But last night was one …
Diminishing Returns
The inspector tells me the basement doesn't have returns, so I should have the A/C people put some in so it's not a meat locker filled with moisture. The house itself needs work. Too much work. We are racing against time with a structure built in 1938. The garage is a complete demo and rebuild. …
Tired.
We are not to be believed. We are not to be trusted. We do not know anything, including facts about ourselves. We are Women. And so the last couple of weeks has gone by, having to interact with men. Men who talk to me like I can't hear. Men who talk me like I don't …
Good
The realtor is telling us this is a good neighborhood. Better than the one the house we just looked at was in. "Good schools" she comments. When I look up the elementary school, it's rated "1", where as the school in the not as good neighborhood is rated "1+". Hmm. Demographically speaking, the "good" neighborhood …
The Lie
It unfolds so slowly. Maybe you had a rough pregnancy. A rough birth. A hard time breastfeeding (if that's what you wanted to do.) Postpartum depression. Maybe your baby was sick a lot. Maybe your baby cried a lot. Maybe your baby never slept. As your whole being crumbles to the needs of this helpless …
In A World of Everything
My kid informed me that he wanted this watch and we should get it. Right now. Either on my phone or by going to the watch store. I have no one to blame but myself. With the click of a button or a swipe of my debit card, I can satisfy his every desire and …
Home Sweet Whatever
While money is the biggest reason I won't have my so-called "dream house", so is living in Chicago. Unless I want to live in the outskirts of 606 in a neighborhood I have only just learned of while house hunting (NO OFFENSE, IRVING WOODS), I will never be able to afford a single family home. …
The Corner (Store)
My brother's wedding is a month and a half away and even though no one will be looking at me, I'm determined to drop some weight so I can look back on the photos and not cringe. I have been doing a miserable job, mostly because diets are a scam that just lead to binge …
The Bearer of Bad News
"Your out of pocket expense is going to be $11,000...for one year...after financial aid and loans." I'm talking to another high school senior who has applied to colleges without really knowing the cost of attendance or what their financial aid was actually going to look like. I doubt they talked to their parents either. This …
