This is the story of our first house. We bought it when we moved back from a failed attempt to live in Seattle. It was the house we bought out of defeat, when we truly just needed some place to live. But it was also the house we bought from the desire to dream big. [...]
On the first day in our new apartment, we got locked out. He had done all of the moving, from the bookshelves to the suitcases of clothes and the food to the curtains. Every time he reminded me, I reminded him that “I did all the packing”, as though that were somehow the same — [...]
Erin Riley was born in Los Angeles, spent some time living in Maine and Boston, and currently lives in the Scottsdale, Arizona. She has four kids—two grown up boys (men, really) and two little girls. Riley graduated from law school, but doesn’t work as a lawyer. Her real training is in philosophy, but as everyone [...]
Meet the Local is a series designed to uncover the differences (and similarities) in how we think and live in different parts of the world. Over the upcoming months, I’ll ask locals from places all over the world the same set of getting-to-know-you questions. This week, we meet Ben, a hometown enthusiast who has figured [...]
Growing up spring always meant a trip to the nursery or garden shop to pick out flowers for the raised beds in my parent’s backyard. My little sister and I would wander through the rows, navigating bags of mulch or potting soil and make suggestions to my mom about what we thought looked nice. My [...]
Once, I called my Dad from New York. It was the middle of December, and I’d been living in the city for three months. “Dad,” I said. “I woke up this morning feeling so bummed, and I don’t know why.” “Mmm,” he said. “SAD.” “I know.” I nodded into the phone, and stuck my lower [...]
I suppose I should start at the beginning. You want to hear the birth story, right? Whether I used drugs or did it au naturale? Was there water involved? A midwife or doctor? (Birth has become so politicized). Well, I’m not going to do that. You can imagine the details and I’ll just skip to [...]
Dear Sibyl, My husband and I met our senior year of college and got married a few years later. We’ve now been together for almost a decade and I still feel lucky that we happened to meet and that circumstances allowed us to grow as people and build a life together. Our families, both immediate [...]
