When your easy, “self-cleaning” middle child turns out to have been a sleeper and does something mortifying. — When good kids do bad things I receive a text from a friend, mother of my child’s bestie, with just “hello, when can you talk?” I feel a momentary flutter of worry, but I’m in the middle of something at work, so I tell her that I’ll call her a bit later. How bad could it…

From the POV of someone who hired, fired and quit, I offer 3 tips on how not to quit your job, even if you experience a “last straw” event. — Earlier this year, after an arduous search and multiple in-depth interviews, the not-for-profit I work for hired a facilities manager. Mr. M checked all the boxes: skilled, hard-working, well-organized, engaging and motivated. Soon it felt like he had always been part of the team.

Many of us have a difficult time taking care of ourselves without feeling overindulgent, and like we don’t deserve it. — I have a rare condition called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). I’ll be minding my own business, sitting in bed or at my desk, writing an article at the end of the day, when without warning my eyes will start feeling itchy. Then my ear canals. …

Or… things not to say to someone who tells you they’re autistic. (And yes, I do mean autistic, not person with autism”. — It happened again today. After completing the “business” part of a meeting last week, the conversation turned to friendly chit chat. It was Friday afternoon, at the end of a busy and stressful week, and I was tired. My carefully maintained mask was slipping. I noticed it was harder to…

A life lesson about trusting your gut. — She was 2 and a half years old when I first noticed — really, sensed — that my daughter was different from her peers. “Doctor, my daughter seems… different” She was incredibly perceptive. Everyone commented on how her eyes seemed wiser than her age. That they appeared to take everything in, observe, analyze. …

If you give a gift, is it with strings attached? — A parent on Quora once asked: would it be OK if he hid the giant teddy bear a grandparent bought their child against the OP’s explicit wishes? Now, I personally hate those things. I’ve encountered one of them on more than one occasion leaning against the garbage can on trash…

Through experience I realized that allowing myself to show my vulnerability made me stronger, not weaker. — I recently published as story that was raw, and very personal. I received some lovely compliments, and a couple readers commented on how I showed vulnerability in sharing my thoughts in this way. I thanked them. I do strive for that, and here’s why. We are born trusting My mother remembers me as a…

When someone dies by suicide, well-meaning people often say things that cause more pain to those grieving. — Earlier this year my amazing, brilliant friend died by suicide. She, like too many others, lost her battle with depression. Gutted and numb, I found myself avoiding people who sought to console me, because some of their well-meaning words cut to the quick. I shared my pain with a small…

I empathize fully with what you describe. I was there. For us it was more than 5 years. And before that we had 2-3 year long "dry spells" during which I felt rejected and unloved and undesirable and angry and sad and miserable. Those breaks were between "conception sex" that…