Someday My Prince Will Come

Someday My Prince Will Come
I'm sick of having a supporting role in my own life story.

Snow White Street Art, NYC Photo (cropped) by Javier Ramos on Unsplash

 Honestly, I feel like this piece would have benefited from more editing time. I have the opposite of writer's block, and I'm trying to get it all out there, despite having little time between full-time parenting and other part-time work. There are some parts of this that I'm proud of, but I wonder if it should have been 2 stories. Maybe someday I'll come back to it. And maybe I'm being too hard on myself right now.

Quit Hitting on My 3-Year-Old

My kid's not 3 anymore, but I just reworked an old piece and published it on Medium.
When I first wrote this 6 months ago, it opened up so many IRL conversations amongst my parent friends. We really do all have these #MyKidToo stories. The culture needs to change.
Quit Hitting on My 3-Year-Old
Hey creepy dude: quit it.

Photo by Edi Libedinsky on Unsplash

My Kid Gave Herself a Haircut

My Kid Gave Herself a Haircut
Preschoolers and Body Autonomy
Published in Art & Parenting on Medium

My 4-year-old, post-haircut. Photo Credit: Author

When Do You Give Up Writing?

When Do You Give Up Writing?
If you're not making any money
Published in The Writing Cooperative on Medium.

Daisies Photo by Ann Danilina on Unsplash

Focus on What You Love

Focus on What You Love
These are a Few of My Favorite Things.
on Medium.

“Funny Toy,” one of my kid’s favorite things. (Art by my daughter. Photo by me.)

We Tried to Choose the Sex of Our Baby

We Tried to Choose the Sex of Our Baby
Even though we knew it shouldn't matter.

Published in P. S. I Love You on Medium.

My baby peeking at you. Photo Credit: Author

"We thought about all the cultures that favored boy babies, and wanted to offset that. Smash the patriarchy, and all that.

And we both appreciated how, currently, it’s a lot easier to raise a female to be whoever she wants to be (quiet or loud, wild or bookish, beautifully embodying every contradiction). Raising males this way is important work too, but it sounded harder, and we are lazy.

So why not just choose a girl?"

Read it all on Medium.

dkfjdkfj

If You Love Me, Share My Money

If You Love Me, Share My Money
For richer or for poorer, till death do us part.
Featured Story (!!!) on P. S. I Love You!

A heart full of cash, by pasja1000 on Pixabay

Essential Books for Teaching Kids about Sex/Gender

Here, I talk about 5 of my very favorite books for teaching kids about sex/gender. And by teaching, I mean opening up a conversation.
Essential Books for Teaching Kids About Sex/Gender on Medium.
(A shorter version was previously published in the August 2018 print issue of Raise Vegan Magazine.)

Kid Walking on a Rainbow Photo by Cory Woodward on Unsplash

My Mom Friends Saved My Life

My Mom Friends Saved My Life: Post-partum depression and the power of friendship.
Published by P. S. I Love You on Medium.

Mom friends. Photo by Julie Johnson on Unsplash

"Getting Your Body Back" Post-Pregnancy

This one’s for all the mamas (and other parents) who have built a human inside of you, and after that superhuman trick, you’ve still stood in front of a mirror and doubted that your body was as it should be.
"Getting Your Body Back" Post-Pregnancy on Medium (originally published in the September 2018 print issue of Raise Vegan Magazine)

Breastfeeding Photo by Leandro Cesar Santana on Unsplash

And here's a photo of me nursing, 7 months post-partum:

Me nursing Tzivia at 7 months. Photo by my husband.

How to Get Your Child to Love Reading

This piece originally appeared in the August 2018 print issue of Raise Vegan Magazine. I just republished it on Medium, with permission.

How to Get Your Child to Love Reading

My daughter reading Ten Apples Up On Top! at Finnriver Farm & Cidery (Photo by Arcelia Kent, used with permission)

I'm weird. You're okay.

I'm weird. You're weird: Here are 10 Quirks About Me. on Medium.

My dad always said, “If you think somebody isn’t weird, you just don’t know them well enough.”

And I always said, “Yeah, but you’re like, extra weird, Dad.”

Rat Selfie (Photo Credit: Author)

Dear Daughter,

Learning to love my body the way my daughter does.
Published in P.S. I Love You on Medium!

‘’Venus at Her Mirror’’ (The Rokeby Venus), 1650 painting by Diego Velázquez — Image is in the Public Domain.

How I Can Be Both a Jew and an Atheist

How I can Be Both a Jew and an Atheist
just published on Medium

Hey, I can appreciate beautiful art. Photo by Hassan Saleh on Unsplash

My Preschooler Has Her Own Instagram

"I think how, over and over, the unfathomable becomes real; how sci-fi writers are prophets; how we seem powerless to stop technology, as it reshapes society, changes what it means to be a human in this world."

My kid, playing with shaving cream at the library. Photo Credit: Author.

 Link to it here: My Preschooler Has Her Own Instagram

Two Atheists Go to a Pentecostal Church...

Now for something completely different...

(Cropped) Photo by Jenni Jones on Unsplash

This is a piece I wrote for a literary journalism class in college. The assignment was to do something “out of my element,” then write about it. Almost 13 years later, it’s still one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. But, until now, I’ve never shared it outside of that college class. I can see how this could possibly be offensive to some people; that’s certainly not my intent. But I apologize in advance if that’s the case. Enjoy!

On Medium: Two Atheists Go to a Pentecostal Church (You'll probably go to Hell just for reading this.)

Photo by Mark Koellmann on Unsplash

Doing Yoga While Your Child Screams at You

I just published Doing Yoga While Your Child Screams at You - Loving Your Kid vs. Loving Yourself
in P.S. I Love You on Medium.
"This isn’t a story of 'what to do when your kid is screaming while you’re trying to get a moment to yourself.' Often, I’ve got the answers, but right now I just need to write about how hard parenting is. I want to tell you that we all have these moments, even those of us who seem like we’ve got the whole parenting thing figured out."

“Give the thinking mind a break.” Photo by i yunmai on Unsplash

Children's Books Featuring Little Girls with Big Voices

Super proud of this one! I just self-published on Medium...
Children's Books Featuring Little Girls with Big Voices 

Fierce Kiddo. Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

I Do Not Buy My Coffee Out - A Poem and a Plea

To celebrate my new Ko-fi page, I wrote a funny poem about coffee.

“What good shall I do this day?” coffee mug. Cropped Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash

I do not buy my coffee out,
I make it ’stead at home.
A little soy milk, not too much,
we can’t afford the foam.

Some days I use the same grounds twice,
my husband doth protest.
But it still smells like coffee,
#SeriouslySoBlessed.

I’ve had café Cubano,
espresso Italiano too.
I know good coffee, but I settle
for my own homebrew.

And, yes, I am a mother,
so I often drink it cold.
A warm mug or my babyboo?
I choose my dear to hold.

But still I drink two cups a day
or my headache gives a warning.
So could you spare a cup, my friend?
Thank you. Good night. Good morning.

I just started a Ko-fi page. You can buy me a cup of coffee at ko-fi.com/darcyreeder. Thank you times a million.