Medium Writing of the Week: LGBTQ, Judaism, Friendship, Puppy Love, Parenting

Toy Rainbow and unicorn on a table.

Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash

I've got four new pieces on Medium this week!

A Medium Writer Sent My Family a Box Full of Rainbows and Unicorns

She’s got the right idea: turning success into generosity

Published in Warm Hearts on Medium

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The Supreme Court’s Sex Discrimination Case Affects Us All

LGBTQ rights are at risk, and so are the rights of everyone to be who

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My Daughter Has Her First Crush, and I Know Who It Is

Does this mean attachment parenting works?

Published in P. S. I Love You on Medium
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Can My Jewish Culture Survive My Intermarriage?

My 5-year-old looks white and doesn’t know what a rabbi is

Medium writing of the week: Parenting, Self-Love, Food Stamps, Magic

I've got three new pieces in Medium this week! With my kid starting kindergarten, I've been doing a ton of parenting writing.

Toddler throws a box of crackers into a mini shopping cart. Cropped Photo by David Veksler on Unsplash

Stop Telling Your Kids You Hate Your Body

Your children’s self-esteem depends on your own self-love.

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium
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I’m Not Ashamed to Use Food Stamps, But Trump Wants Me to Be

In a nation as wealthy as the United States, yes, we are ‘entitled’ to a basic standard of living.

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My Kid Believes in Magic, and Maybe I Do Too

You can’t buy magic from a store, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real.

Published in P. S. I Love You on Medium
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Debut essay for The Jewish Forward -- Can My Jewish Culture Survive My Intermarriage?

Can My Jewish Culture Survive My Intermarriage?

Here's my debut essay for The Forward--aka The Jewish Forward--which is published in both English and Yiddish (I wonder if my essay will be translated to Yiddish!)

Update: And here's a longer version of that same essay, republished on Medium!

My daughter’s first Hanukkah. Photo by my husband Charles Reeder.

All My Medium Pieces This Week! Parenting, Gratitude, Gender, and the Meaning of Life

I've been publishing up a storm!

Photo by Tetiana Shadrina on Unsplash

Say Thank You: Your Loved One Might Die Tomorrow

I’m horrible at thank you’s, but it’s never too late to start showing gratitude.

Published in P. S. I Love You on Medium
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What’s So Bad About Gender Reveal Parties?

Even the inventor of so-called gender reveals thinks it’s time to move past them.

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium
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The Meaning of Life, According to a 4-Year-Old Philosopher

She’s full of questions, and some pretty wise answers too.

Published in P. S. I Love You on Medium
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The First Day of Kindergarten is Harder for Parents Than Kids

Our children are going to be (more than) fine. And so are we.

Published in P. S. I Love You on Medium
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I’m Excited My Kid’s Learning to Read, But Afraid of What She’ll Learn

We had cereal boxes, but she has the internet.

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium
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My daughter on her first day of kindergarten (photo by me)

The Tyranny of Pocketless Women’s Fashion

We deserve functional pockets, and so do our daughters.

Published in Fearless She Wrote on Medium!

Photo by Zeny Rosalina on Unsplash

All That Parenting Advice Works Just as Well on Grown-ups

That adult in your life might just need a nap.

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium.

Photo by Humphrey Muleba on Unsplash

Patriarchy Chicken is Cool, But I Like This Even Better

Should we teach our daughters to take up space, or to be kind?

My debut for new Medium publication An Injustice!

Photo by Rodrigo De Mendoza on Unsplash

Is Coffee Really Just Socially Acceptable Addiction?

More Americans drink coffee daily than tap water. Should we quit?

My debut for Heated, the Medium food publication by former New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman!

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

My Debut for Scary Mommy!!!

I just got published in Scary Mommy!!!
What Happened When My 4-Year-Old Cut Her Own Hair by Darcy Reeder
(previously published here on Medium)

It’s Not Easy to Parent When Your Soul is Leaving Your Body

My post-partum depression recovery was long and filled with brain zaps.

Just submitted this for a Human Parts prompt.
Since I started writing again a year ago, I've known this story was going to have to come out, but I've been afraid to face it. I bawled as I wrote it. I hope it ends up being therapeutic for me.

Photo by Davide Pietralunga on Unsplash

I Read an LGBTQ Book to a Room Full of Preschoolers: Heather Has Two Mommies

I Read an LGBTQ Book to a Room Full of Preschoolers

All children deserve stories about all kinds of families.

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium.

“Celebration of Inclusivity” Painting and Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

The Dangerous Idea That Art Can Be Good or Bad - Losing our Artistic Innocence

The Dangerous Idea That Art Can Be Good or Bad

My daughter was 2-and-a-half when she lost her artistic innocence.

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium.

Photo by Dani Aláez on Unsplash

How To Help Kids Love Their Bodies

Nearly half of 3- to 6-year-old girls worry about being fat.

Published in Fearless She Wrote on Medium.

Your Self-Love Gives Your Kids Self-Love! Photo by Dion Almuena on Unsplash

Mama, Are We Going to Live Forever?

An atheist’s guide to teaching children about death

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium.

How do you teach death without Heaven? Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash

How Do Single Parents Do It?

I parented solo for 5 whole days, and it broke me.

Published in Home Sweet Home on Medium.

Photo by Naomi August on Unsplash

My Kid’s Excited for Kindergarten, But I’m a Mess

I already cried in front of her teacher.

This is my debut for the new Medium publication Home Sweet Home.

This Kid is Too Cool for School. Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

I Discovered My First Gray Hair the Day She was Born

Why are we so afraid to grow old?

Published in Mariposa Magazine on Medium!

Livin’ the gray hair dream. Photo by christian ferrer on Unsplash

Who’s Afraid of a Children’s Book?

I am. But my kid isn’t.

"These images certainly make me feel something. They make me feel anxiety in my whole body, the exact feeling the kid in the book is feeling. So, I believe the art is impressive; it speaks to me. But does it belong in a children’s book?"
Click to read the rest on Medium.

Who's afraid of a children's book? Photo by Alice Alinari on Unsplash

Bridging the “Million Word Gap”

Reading to kids: the how and the why

 I just published this on Medium.

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

If You Speak Your Wish, Will it Come True? - Carmela Full of Wishes...

If You Speak Your Wish, Will it Come True?

Carmela Full of Wishes, and the power and limitations of a wish

Published in The Ascent on Medium

“WISH FOR PEACE” mural from the Nashville Walls Project — Photo by Ben Wilkins on Unsplash