0:04
Stop Explaining the Fish...Why stepping back is the parenting move no one talks about (but every child needs)
Last summer I sat on the beach with my husband, no kids. They are teens now, and off doing their teenage thing. I lay back in my chair, sun on my face, air pods in, and noticed the absence of a wiggling toddler in my lap giving me damp, sandy kisses. I miss those days something awful. I mean, sitting here without kids is nice, don’t get me wrong, but still… I miss my kids little.
My eyes scanned the beach. Vigilant parents stood guard at the water’s edge, sunblock at the ready, keeping their kids safe in the waves.
0:22
Parenting the youngest child -- the last to be little
I’m typing from the dining table in our beach house, staring out at blustery weather and choppy seas. I have a steaming cup of chai tea next to my laptop and Tom Odell is singing through my speaker. We came down here for the final week of school holidays after our Airbnb guests checked out on Monday. We were treated with two beautiful blue sky days, the most sparkly winter weather, before a storm rolled in and the rains returned. Michael and the girls went back home because they have job commitments, so Wilkie and I are here, just the two of us.
0:40
5 Surprising Gratitude Practices That Actually Work
Dear Readers, Happy on Purpose will be on summer hiatus following this issue. Weekly newsletters will resume in August! xo Amelia
Earlier this week, I was chatting with a friend who’s an accomplished life coach writing a book about gratitude.
0:49
Trump Has Fired The Election Umpires: Now What?
Trump cleared out the Election Assistance Commission’s leadership, firing its two Democratic members and prompting the lone Republican to resign. That leaves the four‑seat, bipartisan agency with no commissioners just months before the 2026 midterms.
The EAC doesn’t count votes or certify the president; it tests and certifies voting equipment, distributes federal election funds, maintains the national voter‑registration form, and helps state officials navigate the administrative side of elections. With its governing board empty, there’s no federal body dedicated solely to overseeing those behind‑the‑scenes processes.
That gap isn’t a direct takeover of voting machines, but it does remove the primary federal watchdog for election administration, raising concerns about oversight and consistency as states move forward.
1:14
"How do you just... move to Spain for the summer?”
“How’s your vacation?”
“Wait, you’re working while you’re there?”
“How do you just... move to Spain for the summer?”
“Who watches your kids?”
I’ve answered some version of these four questions every day since we landed, usually more than once. And I get it. Four years ago I would have asked the same things.
This marks our third summer packing up our lives in San Francisco to live and work remotely from Europe, and I don’t see us ever stopping.
1:28
Only a Jewish Woman Could Write a Dystopian Novel Like This
On its surface, there is nothing particularly Jewish about the French novel “I Who Have Never Known Men,” whose English translation has been experiencing an unexpected surge in popularity this past year despite being published last century (that is, in 1995).
Jacqueline Harpman’s sparse dystopian novel centers on a group of 40 women living in an underground bunker for reasons unknown — to both the women and the reader. What we do know is that a rotation of male guards keep the women in check, providing food and enforcing bedtimes that may or may not have to do with the typical 24-hour day.
