Last week on the subway, I walked in on an awkward scene: A kid of maybe 11 was talking to a guy about my age who was either his father or his uncle. The kid was jabbering nonstop—something about how he wanted to be dropped in the middle of the city and find his way …
Author Archives: Matt
The Tantrum: Should Your Babymama Be a ‘Chinese Mother’?
If you are alive and able to understand the English language, over the weekend you probably read Yale Law School professor Amy Chua’s Wall Street Journal article, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” That’s the one in which she details the reign of terror to which she subjected her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, denying them the …
Continue reading “The Tantrum: Should Your Babymama Be a ‘Chinese Mother’?”
The Day of No Tears: A Fantasy
The day begins like any other: We wake up around 7, lift Sasha from her bed, and plunk her down in the living room with a warm bottle of milk while we get dressed. Nor does anything seem unusual on the subway—on a fortuitously empty F train, Sasha sits calmly on Jean’s lap, except for …
The World Is Upside-Down, or ‘I Can’t Handle the Tooth!’
Teeth, teeth, teeth—teeth are on my mind these days. On Wednesday I went to the dentist and was told to, duh, floss more often. Which is fine: At least my teeth are generally in good shape. Unlike Jean’s—last year she maxed out her dental plan, a result of wisdom-teeth removal and the generally poor shape …
Continue reading “The World Is Upside-Down, or ‘I Can’t Handle the Tooth!’”