Mona Shand

When I was 5 years old, my mom signed me up for ballet lessons. We bought the pink tutu, the tights, the shoes, the whole works, and I couldn’t wait. [CLICK TO READ MORE]

I think I can probably count the number of manicures I’ve had in my life on the unpolished fingers of both hands. I have a vague memory of getting one [CLICK TO READ MORE]

When your OBGYN calls at 4pm on a Friday following your ultrasound and says “Don’t worry, but…” the natural reaction is of course to worry. A lot.  From what I [CLICK TO READ MORE]

I am not crafty, let’s just be honest about that. I think after 37 years on this planet it’s the least I can do in the name of self-awareness. Pots [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Candy hearts, paper doilies and boxes of cards emblazoned with loving images of cartoon characters.  It all used to turn my stomach.  Yes, I was an anti-Valentinian for years.  Make [CLICK TO READ MORE]

No, I don’t live in a pyramid, and, no, I don’t have a pet camel. These were the answers I sometimes wished I could tattoo on my forehead as a [CLICK TO READ MORE]

I knew you were there. This isn’t my first or even second time around this crazy, wonderful, unbelievable ride, and I certainly didn’t need a little plus sign on a [CLICK TO READ MORE]

It was only supposed to be a weeklong fling. It was the fall of 1997 and I was the new teacher on the block at a prestigious Southern private school. [CLICK TO READ MORE]

My dad always used to say that he knew he was on vacation when he could finally take off his watch and leave it off. A busy doctor accustomed to [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Thanksgiving is upon us and the nation is preparing to loosen its collective belt. Yes, it’s the holiday where friends and family gather to feast on heaping helpings of turkey [CLICK TO READ MORE]

It’s funny how you can’t wait for your kids to say “Mama.” You coax them constantly to produce those two syllables, and then when they finally do and you eventually [CLICK TO READ MORE]

She bends her legs, grunts, uses every bit of strength in her tiny body and pulls herself up to standing. The grin that follows says it all: triumphant! So proud [CLICK TO READ MORE]

It’s just a cup. Now breathe. That’s what I tell myself four times a day, as I scrub out a certain little red sippy cup with flowers on the side. [CLICK TO READ MORE]

It was just one of those days. One of those days when the occupants of the house included a grumpy preschooler, a grumpier baby and the grumpiest mom. It seemed we [CLICK TO READ MORE]