Catherine Gigante-Brown

When David was about 12, he told me that he wanted to take the train to school alone. My gut reaction was, “No way in hell!” I mean, we live in a safe neighborhood and all, but David has ADHD and was easily distracted. What if he missed his stop? What if someone messed with him?

Alas, I am the lone female in a house full of men. Only two men, but they take up a lot of space.

At first, I felt like an abandoned ten-year-old, dropped off at a remote summer camp—with the extra added attraction of no cell phone reception or Wi-Fi. I thought the hardest part of the weekend was going to be picking out a robe. Boy, was I wrong!

I go for checkups when I’m supposed to: every three months to the oncologist and every six months to the breast surgeon. I go to SHARE support group meetings to bolster myself. I try to get enough sleep, despite the occasional night spent wide-eyed with dread.

I saw my present mother-in-law in a whole new light the first time she held my newborn son.

TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) has been around for at least five centuries –– there’s got to be something to it.

Why do we venerate individuality in adults but condemn it in children?

I realized my father was from a generation that never said those three little words. He was saying he loved me without them. But I didn't realize it then.

Being a little bit chubby is better than being a lot dead.

Once upon a time, it was easier to keep track of gender. Today, not so much — the lines are blurred. For many, gender’s not so much about questioning your own identity as it is about questioning the very nature of identity.