Some four decades ago, my mother fell headfirst into teaching. She was not trained for it. It was not her dream to be a teacher while growing up in the languid suburbs of Istanbul. …

Written 9/19/2012, with endless love Wednesday was a very long day. It started at 1:30am. I had just fallen to sleep an hour and a half before when the phone rang. “It’s time.” My mother said as soon as I picked up. You could hear the excitement in her voice. …

Barreling toward my 50s at a breakneck pace, I have been startled to find that I now Keep my hair in vases My eyesight in saline And my sanity in little orange vials. (Blue pills of happiness I dole out Indiscriminately to friends and family) My tummy belongs in Spanx My heels, never worn, in the back of a closet While my money goes entirely to my kids & food Food & kids My books are in my phone My phone is forever in my hand

You need to go get your Bivalent Booster now. It’s time. The equivalent of three Boeing 777s crashed last week, killing 1234 Americans. Shocking, right? But you haven’t heard about it because they actually died from Covid. And we’ve collectively decided to ignore those deaths. …

This past year, my self-assured 13-year old and my wide-eyed 11-year old have started to walk to school by themselves. A school that resides five narrow streets and two wide avenues over from our NYC apartment. I was hesitant to let them go at first, but then life got in…

We lost my aunt last night to a decade long struggle with cancer. Her will to live was so strong that she even lasted until her son was able to cross continents to be at her bedside. Alongside multitudes of friends and family, she will be mourned deeply by that…

When I was little, I used to love peeing in the pool. Four-year-old me truly enjoyed the release followed by being quickly enveloped in all that warmth. And apparently so do a lot of other kids and too many adults. …

So wear a damn mask! To date, the single biggest misconception we have about COVID-19 is that it somehow only seriously affects or kills only a select group of people. That you do not have to worry unless you are over 65 and/or have an “underlying health condition.” …

If and when they reopen. I am a NYC mom, a healthcare researcher, with two pre-teens in private school. And I have been as paranoid as they come as far as COVID is concerned. I raised the alarm with close friends and family as early as February. By March, I…