Published in Special Nation

·Pinned

It’s True, Having a Child Changes Everything

A Day at the Aquarium — It’s rather disorienting, looking back, that my husband and I had such a nothing-can-go-wrong-for-us attitude, one that was clearly bound to kick us in the butt, when we decided to leave Venezuela to go to graduate school in Monterey, California with a baby on the way. As it happens, I…

Parenting

4 min read

It’s True, Having a Child Changes Everything

Published in The Writing Cooperative

·Pinned

How to Write Amazing Analogies

What I learned from reading David Sedaris — David Sedaris is the sort of writer who does not waste the opportunity to create amazing analogies to produce powerful descriptions of people, things and situations. Being a master at humor, his, of course, also make you smile and audibly chuckle or laugh. …

Writing

4 min read

Published in Special Nation

·May 4

26 Lessons About Love, Sex, Parenting and Money From 30 Years of Marriage

For the married and unmarried — Thirty years of marriage. How is it even possible? “It really has felt like two minutes — underwater,” an acquaintance joked the other day about his similarly long marriage. Seeing as I’m very slow when it comes to jokes, this one was simple enough and made me laugh. But I…

Marriage

4 min read

Published in Special Nation

·Apr 8

Having a child changes EVERYTHING

Dear Special Nation citizens, Here is what happened in year 2 of my 30-year marriage: the birth of my son Diego, who, over time, came to be diagnosed as autistic, bipolar and cognitively disabled (they called it “mental retardation” but I believe that’s no longer considered a PC term). It’s True: Having a Child Changes Everything Anyhow, that’s the way I remember it. Thank you for reading, Daniella

Marriage

1 min read

Having a child changes EVERYTHING

Dear Special Nation citizens,

Here is what happened in year 2 of my 30-year marriage: the birth of my son Diego, who, over time, came to be diagnosed as autistic, bipolar and cognitively disabled (they called it “mental retardation” but I believe that’s no longer considered a PC term).

It’s True: Having a Child Changes Everything

Anyhow, that’s the way I remember it.

Thank you for reading,

Daniella

PS: I’m revisiting and writing about my marriage story in chronological order. Episode 1:

First Marriage, Then Baby

Published in Special Nation

·Mar 26

Time for a Marriage Break?

We’ve taken at least 30 — Do you ever wish you could mute your spouse when he’s (my spouse is a “he”) telling the same “joke” he has told 137 times and which you’ve made abundantly clear is not funny AT ALL? Have you fantasized you can replay an event so your partner will admit it…

Marriage

5 min read

Published in ILLUMINATION

·Mar 11

Is Putin a Man Who Would Destroy a Country “If He Could Be King of the Ashes”?

A month ago, I gave it not a thought — Everyone has something to say about Putin and the war in Ukraine. What’s Putin’s state of mind? Is Putin rational? How far would Putin go? Would he actually use nuclear weapons? What should NATO and the rest of the world do? If you listen to The Economist (War in Ukraine…

Ukraine

3 min read

Is Putin a Man Who Would Destroy a Country “If He Could Be King of the Ashes”?

Published in Special Nation

·Feb 27

A Long Time Ago, Before Diego Was Born…

Dear members of this very Special Nation, — It’ll be my 30th wedding anniversary this year, so I’ll be writing about this crazy journey and how my son Diego’s disability (they call it “autism” though I’m no longer sure about the term!) figures within it. Here’s the first story: First Marriage, Then Baby I was stunned to discover I have exactly one photo of Cesar and me before we got married. Here it is, at the very beginning of our journey:

Parenting

1 min read

A Long Time Ago, Before Diego Was Born…

Dear members of this very Special Nation,

It’ll be my 30th wedding anniversary this year, so I’ll be writing about this crazy journey and how my son Diego’s disability (they call it “autism” though I’m no longer sure about the term!) figures within it.

Here’s the first story:

First Marriage, Then Baby

I was stunned to discover I have exactly one photo of Cesar and me before we got married. Here it is, at the very beginning of our journey:

Published in Special Nation

·Feb 27

First Marriage, Then Baby

In love and lust — Nine months to the day we met, Cesar and I were married. It was not a shotgun wedding, as we reckon some assumed. We were madly in love and, it’s true, couldn’t keep our hands off each other. We were once asked to leave a restaurant lounge for basically making…

Marriage

3 min read

Published in Middle-Pause

·Feb 10

First Times for Sex, Hot Springs and Mosquito Bites

What makes a “first time” memorable? — I remember my first ørg@sm, 32 years ago now, very well. Nothing I’d ever seen, heard, or read about it did it justice. Who knew, for instance, the feeling would travel all the way down to my toes? I couldn’t stop laughing about how crazy novel and insanely intense the…

Memory

4 min read

First Times for Sex, Hot Springs and Mosquito Bites

Published in ILLUMINATION

·Feb 1

10 Essential Life Lessons from Daniel Pink

On work, regret, decision-making, getting things done, and dealing with hassles — Daniel H. Pink, as his website bio states, “is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about business, work, creativity, and behavior.” He also teaches the wonderful MasterClass Sales and Persuasion, about which I wrote this: Sell and Persuade: Unexpected Lessons From Daniel Pink’s MasterClass Take five minutes to read this and learn what persuading and selling are really all aboutbettermarketing.pub

Daniel Pink

5 min read