Category Archives: Creative writing

I Am…

January 25, 2020 On my drive up to the mountains, my mind went pleasantly blank…in a relaxed, wonderful, existential way. I had spent the morning getting kids to school before completing a product inventory tax prep task, a deadline I … Continue reading

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Keynote Moment: What I Shared with Teenagers on Latino Achievement Night

  Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting honor student Alicia Fisher at the Latino Achievement Night ceremony at Castro Valley High School. This young activist got up on stage and unapologetically called out the decades of systemic bias … Continue reading

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Processing Those Honest Mother’s Day Messages from my Children

One of the best benefits of being a mommy is receiving handmade projects that convey love from your children. Really nothing beats that…because kids create directly from their hearts…It’s #NoFilters defined. Mother’s Day is the day that, if you’re lucky, … Continue reading

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The Role of Children’s Books in Our Insanely Active Summer

My kids and I were uploading all the titles and author names of the books they’ve read this summer as part of the 2014 Latinas for Latino Lit Summer Reading Program. Luckily, the program required we only report eight books … Continue reading

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From Frog Sized Preemie to Advancement Ceremony Speaker

Twelve years ago this summer, I was six months pregnant with my first child. After a military aviation career, completing master degree, accepting a global tech marketing position and moving back to the SF Bay area where we first met, … Continue reading

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Reflecting on the Birth of My Micropreemie on Her 10th Birthday

Ten years ago today, a severely premature baby entered my life. Weighing in at barely one pound two ounces, my first born child much more resembled a frog than a human. See the picture here for yourself. “Where’s the baby?” … Continue reading

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Nine Eleven 2001 -Day of Horror and Creation

On 9/11/2001 I was in an east bay hospital trying very hard to keep my first child from escaping my uterus prematurely. I had checked into the hospital at midnight, because it was the first day of the 24th week … Continue reading

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A Summer Moment of Overcoming Disability

Overcoming? Is that the right word for what we did this summer? My daughter who is blind is now nine. Last year she had her first two weeks of swimming lessons, as did her siblings. What a difference competent swimming … Continue reading

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Meeting Congressmen on Tuesday; Cleaning Toilets on Thursday

I’ve had an extraordinary six days flying back and forth (and again back and forth) between California and Washington D.C. A Friday night gala in D.C. where I accepted a very special award, a Tuesday lunch where I was introduced … Continue reading

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Cal Alumni and Students: Ever wonder what the inside of the Stanford tree smells like?

This week I happily joined the ranks of published authors, as this Cal anthology came out after months collaborating with 34 other Cal grads and two motivated editors. When I Was There: Life at Berkeley 1960-2010 is now available via … Continue reading

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