Letter to Past Marcus: Baby Rattlesnakes & Other Terrors
Hey Marcus from six months ago. It's me, future Marcus. You're currently sitting in the dark at 3:14 AM, the retina display of your phone burning a hole in your exhausted corneas because you tried to Google "best wooden baby...
The Great Bread Deception: Meeting A Baby Swan (And Surviving)
It's a crisp Tuesday morning at St James's Park, and an elderly gentleman in a tweed flat cap is hurling massive, doughy chunks of supermarket sliced white bread into the water. A fluffy grey cygnetβwhich I've just spent ten minutes...
Note to Self About That Backyard Bunny Incident We Barely Survived
Dear Priya from last April. You're currently standing frozen in the damp Chicago grass, holding a weed whacker in one hand and a half-eaten string cheese in the other. Your toddler is strapped to your back in the ergonomic carrier,...
My pediatrician's brutal rules for surviving summer water play
I was standing in my tiny Chicago backyard with a garden hose in one hand and a giant, deflating aesthetic swan in the other. My son was barely four months old, shivering violently in a designer swimsuit that cost more...
Dear Past Priya: What You Got Wrong About Pond Wildlife
Dear April Priya. You're standing at the edge of the Humboldt Park lagoon with a fistful of stale sourdough, a hyperactive toddler balanced on your hip, and a burning desire to create a core memory. The sun is out, the...
So Your Toddler Brought a Live Baby Crow Into the Kitchen
Beau was standing in the middle of my kitchen holding what looked like a dusty, highly aggressive potato. Dirt was falling onto my freshly swept linoleum, our golden retriever was losing his absolute mind by the back door, and an...
Found A Baby Bobcat In Your Yard? Read This First
My husband came through the back door holding a dirty garden towel. He looked weirdly proud of himself. Inside the towel was a hissing, spotted furball about the size of a baked potato. He told me he saved a stray...
Why a Real Babys Day Out Requires a Massive Deployment Pipeline
I was standing by the open door of my Honda Civic, sweating through a flannel shirt in 60-degree Portland weather, holding a diaper bag that weighed roughly the same as a car battery. My 11-month-old son was strapped into his...
That Time My Toddler Tried To Pet A Baby Skunk In The Backyard
I was wearing my husband's college sweatpants with the mysterious bleach stain on the knee, holding my third cup of reheated dark roast, just staring blankly at the azalea bushes when Leo screamed, "MOMMY, SPICY KITTEN!" I froze. It was...