• "On the ubiquitous use of 'crazy'": Explanation of why the thoughtless use of "crazy" and its synonyms hurts.
• "Transcendence and terror: A morality play set in two scenes": On the parenting highs and lows within each of us, and on the middle ground.
• "10, No, 40 Things I Never Want to Hear or Read Again, Parenting Judgment Edition": Tired of hearing these against me, and tired of hearing myself think or say them against others.

"I have never known exactly what to say to someone after their loved one dies. … Because losing one of my own children was so terrifying to me, I couldn’t figure out what to say to these parents who had had the Worst Thing Ever actually come to pass.
…
"I totally understand that people are afraid of hurting or upsetting me if they mention anything related to Henry’s death, and I in no way want to make anyone feel bad for NOT mentioning him (I’ve been there with being unsure of the protocol when dealing with a grieving parent, remember?). But I am here to tell you that only a few months past my child’s death, I absolutely want and need to still be asked on a fairly regular basis how I am doing and how the other kids are doing."

"If you've ever been immersed in another culture and another language, you know the cumulative stress of not quite understanding how everything should be done, of not getting all the social cues, of not being able to read the signs. You know what it feels like when the things people say whiz completely over your head and you miss every instruction that's not a smile and every joke that's not a fart.

"A toddler is so utterly dependent on his parents and caregivers. It really, really, really is stressful being a wee kid. No wonder they so frequently drink until they pass out."

• "Understanding Nutritionism And The Problem With Infant Formula": I had the same reaction when first encountering the term "nutritionism" of seeing how perfectly it dovetailed with the breastfeeding vs. formula question — our society has come to believe in nutrients divorced from food itself, and that scientists know better about what to eat than tradition and common sense and our own hunger.

• "An Emotional Day": Check out the birthing/breastfeeding dolls from MamAmor! I want. Wouldn't that be a great way to prepare Mikko for the birth of his sibling, and commemorate it after the fact?

For parents who practice attachment parenting, it can be tempting to center our lives around our children — but it's not healthy. This month we're going to talk about taking time for ourselves. Here are some possible topics for you to discuss: How do you take time for yourself? What passions do you pursue? How do you find the time and balance it with being a parent? And if you aren't taking time for yourself, what will you do to start? Think about how you feel when you do not get adequate time for yourself versus how you feel when you do.

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measles-pox;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth
tending as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it is over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.