It begins before I’ve opened my eyes in the morning. “Mommy. Mommy. MOMMY,” Sophie stagewhispers from a few inches away, as she pulls my blanket over herself. (Unintelligible mumbling from me, something worse from Ray’s side of the bed.) “Mommy, can I sleep in your bed tonight?” As the Meanest Mom in the World, I […]

A note came home from the principal last Friday. Tell Sophie I’m wearing purple on Monday!  It was not your typical note home. It is not your typical situation. I’ve been talking with the principal at Sophie’s elementary school since August about where she’ll go to junior high. It’s a big decision for any kid, […]

Reports of the death of print journalism have been greatly exaggerated, and if you don’t believe me, consider the intense debate in the past few days over two magazine covers. Print journalism isn’t dead, and neither is its struggle to figure out how to depict women. Consider Lena Dunham on the cover of Vogue and […]

I don’t remember what my mother said when I told her Sophie had Down syndrome. I don’t remember what Ray said, when he heard the news, or even what I said. But I will never forget what my sister said. “Amy will always have someone to get a pedicure with.” It was exactly what I […]

I met with the principal at Sophie’s school yesterday. It had nothing to do with what’s going on at school — not this school. It was time, finally, to pull the trigger. To figure out the next step toward junior high. I won’t bury the lede. At this point, if I had to make a […]

I woke up today singing “Good Morning Baltimore,” which is no wonder considering I sat through three stage performances of Hairspray over the weekend. If there’d been a fourth, I would have been there for that, too. The musical was performed by Detour Company Theatre, a local theater troupe. As the board member who introduced […]