There’s no downtime for the solo parent, and when one is sick, like I am at the moment, that becomes apparent. I still need to do all the things, and when I say all, I mean everything: put out the garbage, feed the dog, make my own bed. The Teenager pitches in, of course; she’ll walk the dog, she’ll make the tea, she’ll sit next to me and hold my hand as I wheeze. When she was younger, however, she was too young to walk the Rocky on her own. I still did it. I still woke up, dragging my bronchial body to the kitchen, prepared the meals for both of them. I still walked her to school. I still walked home alone from school, crawling into bed, setting the alarm for when I’d need to pick her up. In the days when I was working and had a sitter, juggling being sick and being an employee and being a parent was easier. The women who cared for my daughter were generous, soulful, kind ladies who wanted to help, and on days like today, when my body is simply flailing, I really miss them. I had an extra set of hands. Now The Teenager can sometimes be that extra set of hands, except during the day she is in school, and also, hello, she is still more of a child than an adult. I still have to parent. And so I don’t really have downtime. I am on call. I am always on call. Even when my throat is on fire and I really, really, really would like to be in bed, eyes closed, resting.

Oprah, Reese and Mindy in a conversation.

Michelle Buteau: “The internet has made the world smaller. Housewives know who Eminem is, and black people are listening to country music. This is a beautiful place where we can share and dip into each others cultures and art forms. I love taking advantage of that medium and trying to reach people in a new, different way.”

Get to know the great and talented Sophia Chang, as told by her daughter, Jian Hong Shi.

Elizabeth Alexander: “We can sometimes feel buffeted about by the challenges of trying to figure out how to do beautiful and radiant and helpful work in the midst of those challenges and that noise, but what I want to do with my colleagues and with all of the extraordinary ideas and cultural work that we will support is to conduct our blooming, because we need art and we need culture and we need humanities to lead rich and beautiful lives.”

Zadie Smith: “I realized I resent the implication that black pain is so raw and so unprocessed—and black art practice so vulnerable and invisible—that a single painting by a white woman can radically influence it one way or another.”

Angelina Jolie:  “It’s only because we are a country based on people of different backgrounds and faiths coming together that I can have this family. My daughters have the freedoms they have because of being American. And we are at our best when we are fighting for others to have the same rights. Particularly other women.”

Portraying a person that is The President.

Oh hey a whole magazine targeted towards men featuring women in swimsuits, wow, what a revolution.

Go get this vibrator from LELO, as recommended by BARB.

And now have a laugh with Michelle Buteau!