The Slow Burn of an Empty Nest

“I don’t want them to go. Seriously. I love them to death. But once they are gone, won’t it be kind of nice to have fewer complications, fewer interruptions?” These are the things you say before they go, before they’re gone. Up until the second it happens, their leaving is still theoretical, so it’s safe and easy … Read more

My dad’s death made me explore the idea of childfree “regret” & “dying alone”

But I didn’t change my mind about kids One of the questions frequently posed to childfree people is a two-parter: A: “What if you regret it?” B: “Aren’t you afraid of dying alone?” My reason for not wanting kids was so simple (I just didn’t want to be a parent) that those weren’t questions I … Read more

Other people

When you feel the strange tug in the left side of your chest, you’ll think of that disease you recently read about, Powassan, and the tiny deer tick you pulled off your thigh in bed last week. Deer ticks–all ticks, really–are on the rise after the warm winter, which means the risk of contracting Powassan … Read more

kristen j. tsetsi