Schooled

by Ted Fox

“You don’t get to matter anymore.

anticipating yet another day of solo parenting—of having to be responsible and fun and firm and nurturing and present and patient and, most importantly, never alone, not even when trying to go to the bathroom—in that moment, I felt completely overwhelmed. And when you’re overwhelmed, you say dumb things.

Not being awake is a rare luxury when you’re responsible for small kids, so your body learns to shut down as quickly as possible whenever it gets the chance.

Having kids is amazing—but it can also suck. Full stop.

That’s when I remembered just how much I love Mean Girls.

There’s nothing quite so deflating as sharing exciting news with someone who doesn’t share that excitement. Especially when it’s because they’re distracted by something you’ve been fighting about. And especially when that someone is your someone.

even as unremarkable as they are as human beings . . .” “ . . . what they thought or did manages to stick with us.”