Chapter no 4
chapter 4 gentle skill building: the five things tidying method when you look at very messy space, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Take a few minutes to speak some compassionate words to yourself and take a deep breath. Although it looks like a lot, there are actually only five things in any room: (1) trash, […]
Chapter no 3
chapter 3 for all the self-help rejects marie Kondo says to tri-fold your underwear. The admiral swears making your bed will change your life. Rachel Hollis thinks the key to success is washing your face and believing in yourself. Capsule wardrobes! Rainbow-colored organization! Bullet journals! How many of these have we tried? How many did […]
Chapter no 2
chapter 2 kindness to future you on the weekends, my husband, Michael, and I take turns getting up early with the kids so the other one can sleep in. Cleaning the kitchen is one of my tasks in our partnership, and I’m pretty renowned for only doing it every few days. Yet the evening before […]
Chapter no 1
chapter 1 care tasks are morally neutral morality concerns itself with the goodness or badness of your character and the rightness or wrongness of decisions. Lots of decisions are moral decisions, but cleaning your car regularly is not one of them. You can be a fully functioning, fully successful, happy, kind, generous adult and never […]
Introduction
introduction in February 2020 I had my second baby. Having struggled with postpartum anxiety in a previous pregnancy and knowing that my husband’s new job was going to have him working seven days a week, I set up a comprehensive postpartum support plan for myself. My toddler would go to preschool four days a week, […]
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments There may only be one name listed as the author of this book, but I couldn’t have written it without the following people: My sisters. I would love you both just as much if you weren’t my sisters. Sharing a parent with you is just an added bonus. My children. You are my biggest […]
Epilogue
Epilogue I push through the crowds of Boylston Street until I get to the cross street. I pull the stroller to a crawl and then stop at the edge of the curb. I pull the top of it back and look down at Emmy. She’s kicking her feet and smiling like usual. She’s a very […]
Chapter no 35
Chapter Thirty-Five I smell toast. I stretch out on my bed and smile, because Ryle knows toast is my favorite. I lie here for a while before I even attempt to get up. It feels like it takes the effort of three men to roll me out of bed. I eventually take a deep breath, […]
Chapter no 34
Chapter Thirty-Four I finish rinsing the paint out of the brushes and then walk back to the nursery to admire the mural. I spent most of yesterday and all of today painting it. It’s been two weeks since Ryle came over and put the crib together. Now that the mural is finished and I brought […]
Chapter no 33
Chapter Thirty-Three “What am I going to do with three car seats?” I’m sitting on Allysa’s couch, staring at all the stuff. She threw me a baby shower today. My mother came. Ryle’s mother even flew in for it, but she’s in the guest room sleeping off her jet lag now. The girls from the […]