Author: ashton

Grieving Loss While Still Being a Parent

The thing about grieving as a parent is that…can you? Grief is impossible to lasso, impossible-er to tame, and impossible-er-er to neatly pencil into your family calendar. There’s a disorienting fog after major turmoil that lingers on as a parent. Jet lag, almost. It sits in the in-between space of shock and processing, because processing

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New Year 2023

Happy New Year, Fluent in Blonde family. My star New Year’s resolution this year is to move to the South for a while; “a while” meaning however long it takes for my kids to develop a deep accent baptized in gravy. I’m positive that whatever shortcomings I have in raising my babies to be great

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Why the Mask Mandate Worked Well with My Lifestyle, and How We Celebrated the End of It (Includes Tylenol)

After corralling my kids to their bedtime showers the other night, I spent nearly thirty minutes policing my two boys about brushing their teeth. I put Shayne to bed while I heard the sink running in what I’d assumed was surrendered compliance, and was surprised when I walked into their bedroom. “Buddy, are you bleeding?

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