My husband and I were already asleep by midnight this New Year’s Eve. I like to think that’s not because we’re insanely boring but because our baby has been teething, so when she sleeps, we sleep. We did go to dinner, though, beforehand, at an Italian restaurant where the outdoor seating means teething babies are…
amulets
Sibling Revelry
Are you ready for Raksha Bandhan? It’s August 13th this year. I know, that’s 10 days away. But if you’re not Hindu, and this is your first Raksha Bandhan, you might need some time to prepare yourself to celebrate. The way I understand it, Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of siblings. It started out a…
Beauty from Birth
At our childbirth prep class on Sunday I bravely asked the visiting pediatrician the question my husband wanted answered, but was too shy to articulate: When is it appropriate to pierce the baby’s ears? We had already covered how soon a baby can fly in an airplane, and spent 10 minutes on the pros and…
Love Snacks
Shakespeare wrote that music may be the food of love. Assuming he really existed as one person, he was smart and prolific, so I’m sure he knows whereof he speaks. But I’d like to make a case for actual food being what nourishes love, especially in its liminal stages. I’m not talking about aphrodisiacs, foods…
Kalo Mina!
That means “Good Month!” in Greek and it’s what people say to each other on the first of every month, to invite luck for the 30 or so days to come. When I lived in Greece I loved it that every shopgirl (that’s a sexist word but I can’t think of the equivalent–Retail Attendant?) or…
The Eyes Have It
The other night we had some people over for dinner and a Greek friend of ours, Teddy, was mocking his mom, as one does, and said that whenever something happens to him, whether it’s good or bad, his mom says, “I knew it! I saw it in a dream!” Like, if he’s thrilled to get…