Talking to Children About the Election — I am trying to find the words to explain to my children what happened, to tell them where we will go from here, as a family and as a nation. When Trump first began to garner support before the primary, I made the hasty knee-jerk statement in front of my…

Finding Our Way as Geek Parents — One of the many things that overwhelmed me as a new mother was trying to figure out where I fell on the spectrum of parenting philosophies: Attachment parent? Tiger mom? Ferberization fan? Dr. Sears subscriber? Bringing Up Bébé believer? Not to mention a chorus of friends and family with their…

I spend a lot time thinking about how to reconcile being a mother and being a writer (and not just because I have a new book, Geek Parenting, coming out next month.) …

One writer’s progress toward a stronger, healthier body — Those of you who read Kyle Cassidy’s blog or twitter feed have followed his gym adventures and running milestones over the last few years. He has inspired many, myself included. Part of Kyle’s motivation came from watching as Neil Gaiman started running and eating healthily back in 2011. I kept…

Reflections on the end of 2013 — © 2013 Valya Dudycz Lupescu Louise Glück is my favorite living poet. Snippets of her poetry appear throughout this blog and on my tumblr. I love the music of her language, her mythic sensibility, the beauty and raw emotion contained in each collection of words. I woke up thinking about…

On loving a writer — © 2013 Valya Dudycz Lupescu 1. Although I love you, I may not see you for hours or days or weeks, even if we live or work together. 2. When writing, my inbox and voice messages pile up around me until I forget that they are there. My intention is…

A reflection on ritual and reconnection — © 2013 Valya Dudycz Lupescu It’s 2am, and I’m putting lights and garland on the tree. Earlier this evening, it was a mostly joyful and noisy team effort of uncovering boxes and assembling, and tomorrow, after breakfast, we’ll put on the bulk of the ornaments. But right now, it’s blissfully…

Art as an invitation to intimacy — Cover art © Madeline C. Matz I have a lot of questions. I was one of those dreamy-eyes kids who tirelessly asked questions, then devoured books looking for answers. …