I’ve noticed something lately in the freelance writing groups and self-employment groups I follow: this belief that the only thing that separates us from earning a million dollars or more is how hard we’re willing to hustle for it.

I say that’s bullshit.

It’s the same as it’s ever been. A lucky few find ways to turn a business into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. The surer way to amass a million-dollar fortune is to choose a stable, in-demand career (though what’s in demand is always shifting), manage your money very well, and be lucky enough to avoid major misfortune.

The rest…

My sister-in-law recently came for a visit and it was the first time we saw a member of either my husband’s or my family since my daughter came out as transgender last year. I didn’t know what to expect; while everyone said they were supportive, I wondered what that would really look like in practice.

You see, my sister-in-law graduated from a conservative Baptist college, which she attended by choice. Then, she married a man who was a Baptist preacher for many years. I didn’t know where she really stood on the “LGBTQ issue.” …

Yesterday, I ordered groceries for pickup at Kroger, which I started doing at the beginning of the pandemic. They have consistently disappointed me, despite giving them multiple chances to get it right. Other friends I’ve talked to across the country say that Kroger pickups are similarly frustrating where they live, too.

I couldn’t help but think that every time I order groceries from Amazon Fresh instead, my orders are never wrong. That’s to say nothing about my other orders of regular items from Amazon, which are also delivered promptly and correctly without fail.

The problem is that I really, really…

I’ve recently noticed how many couples genuinely don’t seem to enjoy being around each other. This makes me really sad, especially because I assume they didn’t start out that way.

I certainly don’t think I’m any kind of relationship expert, but I’ve been married for 27 years and we’ve been through a lot, which has given me some insight. My relationship has been mostly happy but it required some work on both our parts. My husband now has stage IV cancer, so I’ve really ramped up my efforts to treat him well because I don’t want to have any regrets.

…

Although I’ve been a freelance writer for 18 years, I intentionally haven’t made parenting one of my beats. It just seemed like presenting myself as any type of a parenting expert was tempting fate or would be some kind of bad luck.

That said, quite a few people have commented on the fact that my kids seem to have turned out exceptionally well. Now that they’re all young adults, I guess I can say that. And to be clear, I mean that in terms of the kinds of people they are, rather than traditional measures of success. …

I was raped by a friend when I was a senior in high school. Or was I?

At the time that it happened, I was clear about what had happened. I was home alone from school because I wasn’t feeling well. He invited himself over, unsolicited, to keep me “company.”

I remember saying no.

I remember pushing him off me.

These actions weren't enough to stop him.

But I ran into him, some 20 years later, and he cheerily waved hello to me. It was suddenly very clear to me that he didn’t view what happened to me as rape…

My mother-in-law is absolutely beside herself that my adult kids still live at home (age 20 and 23) and that my 27-year-old niece still lives with her parents too (my husband's sister.)

She doesn't understand the fact that neither my husband or his sister actually mind their kids living with them into adulthood. It actually shares the household burdens and we treat them with respect, which is reciprocated.

With the cost of housing, my kids may live at home for several more years, and I'm more than fine with that.

A year ago, George Floyd died at the hands of Derek Chauvin. While that case has finally worked its way through the justice system, I’ve noticed one thing that’s become clear: there’s been less and less interest on the part of white people ever since last summer.

Last summer, white people were out in large numbers protesting the police militarization that resulted in George Floyd’s death. You weren’t hard-pressed last summer to find people who were protesting in support that Black Lives Matter. But gradually since then, most of those white voices have gone silent. What happened?

It certainly isn’t…