What Do I Need to Know Right Now? What Else is Possible?

Photo of a young child seated and looking at a book, photographed from behind through the bars of a baby gate.

As I write this, my household is once again in quarantine because my son was exposed to COVID at daycare. When I got the news on Friday, a sense of dread came over me as I anticipated what the coming week would look like, working from home with a one year old and a three year old.

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Being Adopted, Part IV: Family History Revealed

Photo of the author's paternal great-grandparents standing in front of a car
My paternal great-grandparents, Ollie and John

You can read the earlier posts in this series here:

In my last post in this series, I wrote about meeting my immediate biological family, my siblings and mother. But family roots, of course, go far deeper than one or two generations. I wanted to have a more complete picture of the ancestors whose genes I’d inherited.

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Family Traditions: Remembering Old Ones and Building New Ones

A miniature Christmas tree on a mantle.  Choosing, placing, and decorating a Christmas tree is a popular family tradition in the United States.

As we head into the holiday season, I’ve been thinking about family traditions. Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of traditions, but the ones we did have were meaningful. As an adult reflecting back on my youth, my memories are largely organized around those traditions, and they help me feel more connected to my family.

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