UPDATED August 1st, 2016 “Mom, I’ve known my best friend longer than I’ve known any of your boyfriends!” This was a direct quote from my then 9-year-old son on the heels of a breakup. Ouch! It sounds worse than it was. It was my second long-term boyfriend (count ‘em – two) as a single mom, […]
Losing a pet is like losing a beloved family member. I would know. I recently lost Lucky, my canine companion of 14 years. When Lucky came to our family he was about 6 weeks old, and I could hold him in the palms of both hands. He was rescued from a street corner, and had […]
I recently heard something really scary to me: Latina girls name Kim Kardashian as one of their top role models. Why? Because she looks like them! This raises an important issue—the people we are most likely to emulate are those with whom we have something in common, whether it be looks, gender, nationality, socio-cultural background […]
True confessions time. We all do things in reaction to our parents, don’t we? I mean, who didn’t say to herself when she was younger, “I’ll never do that when I have children!” On the other hand, we also grow to see—usually much later in life—the wisdom behind some of the parenting tactics our mothers […]
I’m one of those people who’s always told, “I don’t know how you do it all.” I was aware that I’d been working hard for the last four years or so. Rarely did I take a day off from work—let alone disconnect myself from other obligations. I sit on two non-profit boards, lead several committees, […]
A teen mom tells her story of raising her son and herself. Your teenage years are a time for figuring out what you believe in and who you are. It’s a time to rebel against authority and ask a lot of questions. Later, in your twenties, you learn how to pay bills, manage the workplace, […]
I’ve had the teen motherhood experience. was 15 when I found out I was pregnant, and everything changed for me in an instant. I was terrified, and yet for me, like many other Latina teens, neither abortion nor adoption was an option. It’s not that I don’t believe in those options for others; but at […]
“Chris Brown, you can beat me!” some young girls tweeted. I was equal parts shocked, frightened, and disappointed. I’ve also seen the many jokes about Chris Brown’s abuse of former girlfriend and collaborator, Rihanna. I get that the girls surely are not serious (I hope), and I can take a joke just as much as […]