More proof that the federal government doesn’t really care about its poorest citizens. — I was more than halfway through filing my taxes this year when the TurboTax screen hit me with a whammy. You do not qualify for the child tax credit. For the past two years, I have been able to receive the child tax credit thanks to COVID relief measures. (Before…

Seven pm, Tuesday night. I know. — All around me, the room hums along as if nothing unusual has happened , as if the world is still in its correct place. Josh carries on his card game; EJ laughs at something Frederick said. Someone pockets a ball in the pool table in the other room, and there…

When race conversations are about microaggressions, white people usually miss the point. — (Note: This article discusses anti-Black racism in America specifically, but in both the US and in countries around the world minorities of all different races experience systemic and social racism. Their experiences are just as important as that of Black Americans, but are simply beyond the scope of this piece.)

Contemplate difficult decisions — The Seven of Cups is an unusual card, in that it often represents an invitation to draw more. In a one or three card draw especially, the Seven of Cups may be telling you that the answer requires a more involved picture than only a few cards can give; so…

It’s OK to need some time. — We’ve been in the habit of plutonic bed-sharing for years. I would call him up, when he was available, and we would hang out together, then fall asleep in each other’s arms. At first, I slept clothed. “Well, I always sleep naked,” he told me from the beginning, and I…

Perhaps not every microaggression is about race — The house is huge, ancient. There is a broken window upstairs, and part of the porch roof is starting to collapse. Outside, the yard is clean, but it doesn’t change the fact that this looks like a trap house. …

The problem is the system. — I was raised as a conservative Christian. I was taught, from as early an age as I can remember, to view the world through the conservative Christian lens. In fact, I was specifically told by well-meaning grown-ups that to view the world in any other way was a sin that…

You might not be real without one. — You are an individual. More than just an individual; you are the individual. A beautiful and unique snowflake. You have your own thoughts and feelings and opinions, and those feelings and opinions matter to us. Your right to share your views, to boldly voice your opinions, matter to us. …

The morning glories are in bloom again. All along the side of the road I see them, popping out of the dried grasses of early fall, gems of purple and deep pink and regal blue turning their faces upward, seeking the sun. It is a gray day, today, but the…