Last fall, I began making college visits with my baby girl. She is my favorite road trip warrior. I have my special things with each kid. With her, it’s road tripping. So, we combined our first college visit into a girls’ road trip, with her bringing along her best friend.
I was first a capoeira mom. Capoeira is Afro-Brazilian martial arts that combines dance with acrobatics, and music from the berimbau, the drum, and the tambourine to regulate the tempo. It was developed by African slaves in Brazil. They disguised their martial arts practice sessions as dance rituals. With Mestre
As babies, I refused to talk baby talk with my kids. I never made those weird baby sounds that people make to their little bundles of joy. This was partly because I didn’t grow up with that. Our kids learned American/English nursery rhymes at school. At home, they learned Haitian,
As the president of a college of first-generation learners, I want the same thing for my students and their families that I want for my own: for the next generation to surpass us. I want things to be easier for my children. I want them to achieve their full human
When my daughter was four and I was 35 learning how to ride a bicycle, she exclaimed: I can ride a bike better than you. She was right. I looked down at her and replied, “If I do my job right, you should do everything better than I.” She looked
No matter how much taller he is than I, how big his muscles are, or how old he is, he will always be my baby. The same goes for the baby girl. This spring, our young man graduates from high school. He is the baby, the boy, the young man
Parenting is my favorite role and watching my children grow, I embrace the ways they each force me to adapt my parenting style to suit each of their unique personalities and needs. My children also force me to confront the deeply ingrained customs, behaviors, culturally embedded norms, and attitudes that
Whether it is the expression of disgust on her face or the actual words out of her mouth, my daughter always seems to have unflattering remarks about my clothes and shoes. “Why did you buy these,” she asked recently as she held my shoes at eye level and shifted her
When my kids were little, I often took them to museums. Their favorites were the Boston Children’s Museum and the Museum of Science where they would go with our dear friend, Mr. Bob. Mr. Bob had a membership to the science museum and would treat them to chicken fingers, fries,
When you say “the talk,” most Black parents know what you are talking about. As parents, we know not to let our children into the world without having had “the talk.” A group of Black girlfriends and I recently sat around and talked about when we had “the talk” with
Recently, I hosted one of my best friends (though we call each other sisters, and our kids are cousins) and her niece, who is studying in the U.S. for a semester at our home. She insisted that her niece visit us so that she could experience a small New England
You know the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”? For Women’s History Month, all of us should be celebrating the childcare providers, the preschool teachers, and all others who make it possible for us to have careers. When I think back to the days of juggling life
Those of you who follow me on Insta already know that my boy is home. (I affectionately refer to my kids as “the boy” and “the girl”. It may sound harsh in American culture, but these are terms of endearment in my culture, though they can be used in other
Last week, at the tender age of 16, my baby boy, my firstborn left for Espana. In some ways, I spent the summer being prepped for his departure but, still, I was not ready to see him leave for four months. He spent a great deal of the summer visiting
I grew up in the city. At the age of 12, I was navigating buses on my own, going to and from school everyday. On the weekends, I navigated buses, trains, and trolleys with my parents. By the time I was 14, I was doing it all on my own.