Business development has never truly been about proximity to a bar cart. It is about trust, relevance, and consistency-all factors of relationship building which take time and patience. Working mothers who understand that distinction are often better positioned to build sustainable books of business than their peers who equate visibility with value.
When child care can cost more than your rent or a mortgage, or you have to sacrifice a paycheck in order to be able to take care of a loved one, that can motivate how people vote. Each election cycle, we see candidates recognizing that more and more.
Parents and grandparents of trans youth, plus their therapists and medical providers, are fed up after years of health care bans and hostile rhetoric. Those feelings are driving them to do things they've never done before - like plan to get arrested at a protest.
The parents object that these policies prevent schools from telling them about their children's efforts to engage in gender transitioning at school unless the children consent to parental notification. The parents also take issue with California's requirement that schools use children's preferred names and pronouns regardless of their parents' wishes.
There are nights when we lie in your bed, fairy lights glowing above us, the city humming softly outside, and you tell me what has been sitting with you all day. Side by side under your pink quilt, you know I am all yours. It was during one of those nights when you asked me a question I couldn't answer right away.
We'd been working together for years to make my medication regimen-treatment for schizoaffective disorder-safe for potential pregnancy. Under her care, I was tapering off an antidepressant known to cause respiratory distress and hypertension in a newborn. I'd been experiencing wild mood swings, even suicidal thoughts. My beloved doctor's eyes were sad. "I'm saying no to a pregnancy, Meg." Even in the moment, I understood her priority as a physician was to keep me safe. Still, part of me hated her.
The mother of a transgender child has said she was forced to home-school him after the government's controversial sex education guidance posed "safeguarding concerns". The seven-year-old trans boy was reportedly removed from public education after being subjected to "inhuman" statements about his gender identity during lessons. Speaking exclusively to PinkNews, the parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said she received "zero support" from staff at the school despite making numerous complaints about safeguarding concerns.
Hall's son Miles was shot and killed by police a block from their home in Walnut Creek on June 2, 2019. The 23-year-old was gripped by symptoms of psychosis, believing he was Jesus and running around the neighborhood with a gardening tool that he said was his staff of God. Hall called 911 to get him medical help as a necessary step toward a conservatorship.
Growing up, Melissa Shultz sometimes felt like she had two fathers. One version of her dad, she told me, was playful and quick to laugh. He was a compelling storyteller who helped shape her career as a writer, and he gave great bear hugs. He often bought her small gifts: a pink "princess" phone when she was a teen, toys for her sons when she became a mom.
I resisted. How could I keep my promise and still consider a group home? The professionals all said the same thing in different words: You can't do this alone. What happens when you get older? He needs a trained staff. His physician, who'd known Chris since he was 3, was even more direct: A group home could offer the structure, safety and supervision I couldn't provide alone.
We are a white, well-off (not extremely wealthy, but doing fine) family living in a mid- to lower-income neighborhood in a major coastal city. Our first grader goes to a Title I public school and a well-known, national non-profit (we'll call it "the ABC program") runs the school care. Our youngest will start kindergarten this fall. I grew up in a wealthy suburb with very minimal diversity of any kind, and I really appreciate that my children are growing up in a more diverse environment.
When I told people I was taking more than eight months of parental leave, the main reactions I got were: What are you going to do with all that time? and won't you get bored? These questions came from every direction including health professionals involved in my wife's pregnancy and the arrival of our second child. More than halfway through my leave, I've been reflecting on what good parental leave looks like:
In the early stages, we agreed to continue to spend time together as a family to make things easier for the kids, which has included twice-weekly dinners, and holidays spent together. It's worked in one critical way: the kids are doing OK and, although they're not happy about the situation overall, they have adjusted well to the changes in our lifestyle.