Author’s note: I originally wrote this in June 2016 following the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida that left 49 dead. This piece originally appeared on Babble.com, which is no longer in publication. I’m reposting it here because sadly, six years later, it’s still relevant. “Can we…

And for some of us, only just barely. — This piece originally appeared in The Swampscott Reporter on June 17, 2021. Across much of the Commonwealth, this week marks the end of the school year. Educators and principals: we salute you. You have been our children’s heroes for the past 15 months, your profession transformed into frontline service out…

It’s been 436 days since my world as I understood it shut down. Even as we cautiously reemerge, the world as I understood it has been irrevocably changed. — This piece originally appeared in The Swampscott Reporter. We received the robocall from my then-first grader’s school district on March 12, 2020. It would be the first of many decisions punting his return to in-person learning. He finished first grade at home. He started second grade via Zoom. From the…

We must abandon this dangerous and insidious remnant of colonialism. — My father is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He came to this country in 1967 from Nara, Japan. He met and married my mother in 1969, in Florida. Five years later, they gave birth to my older sister. “Oh, bless your heart! Did you get her from Vietnam?” My tall, blonde-haired…

On my personal pandemic anniversary, I take a look back at my last few days of normalcy in the “before times.” — “You heard the whole thing I just told your husband, right? How you might experience chills, body aches, elevated temperature tomorrow morning?” I nodded as I sat down in the seat still warm from where Larry had sat just a moment before. “Any questions before we continue?” “Just one,” I…

Scenes from my second grader’s first day of virtual learning — We walk to our usual morning meetup spot: the crosswalk three-quarters of the way down our street where “The Crew” gathers before school. The assembled parents and grandparents mingle while the kids—spanning all the elementary grades—run around. …