The Queen died—screw decorum and niceness

pale crown floating in the air

Look, me and the Royal Family go way back. Sorta. Let’s just say that they’ve occupied space in my mind for a long time. My earliest memories of the Royals? Watching Princess Diana and Prince Charles getting married. I was a little kid—maybe 9 or 10—and, like millions of others, I was mesmerized by the …

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Adventures in dating: Middle age and the madness of matching

woman operating a cell phone

Personal stories mostly went by the wayside for me in 2015, when my now ex-husband and I split up. They didn’t go away, but one thing I pledged was to at least seriously limit pieces about my family—unless highly relevant to a particular piece—because my children’s stories were no longer mine to share publicly. Which …

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Black mediocrity or worse

black woman backlit by holding a lantern

Growing up, my father often used to tell me that it didn’t matter what you did in life; just be the best at it. In fact, my Dad would say, “I don’t care if you end up as being a janitor or a sex worker (OK, Dad’s language was a bit more crass on that …

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