Pregnancy was supposed to be the easy part, at least in a way. Be mindful of the seemingly endless list of foods to avoid and take your vitamins. The big stuff, the truly hard stuff, comes later. 

The Hard Stuff Is Supposed to Come Later

As parents, we babyproof our homes and follow our pediatricians’ guidelines with the understanding that much of what we’re doing is temporary.

Safety Concerns Are Not Paranoia

When I woke up on my 25th birthday, I didn’t feel like I’d reached some milestone signaling the beginning of old age. 

No, 25 Isn't "Old"

As late as my final days of pregnancy, maybe even as late as the days just after my son was born, I thought I wanted to go back to work. I not only thought I’d be okay with being a working mom, I thought I’d enjoy it.

I Thought I Wanted to Be a Working Mom. I Was Wrong.

Paul and I stood side by side. It was a dreary winter afternoon, and as lifelong bookworms, we were spending it together in an old house that had been converted into a used bookstore, with each room dedicated to a different genre.

Stacks

As young women—just barely so at 18—this is just the beginning. We have years of more sexual harassment ahead of us, years before the #MeToo movement happens.

Brave

I was figuring out who I was with suburban-mall punk as a blueprint.

Emo Dancing Queen

Despite a lifelong love of writing, an English degree, freelancing work, and a few published pieces, I imagined that the loss of my writing life would happen naturally, a consequence of becoming a parent, and not necessarily because of a lack of time

Janelle Sheetz

Selected work