Leolin Bowen

I am usually introduced to people as “the vegan.” I get it. Vegan is the new “it” word and now you are actually meeting one.

Dating in my 30’s is not like dating in my 20’s in several ways.

Inevitably, it happens. A well-meaning (or maybe not so well-meaning) white person will utter the phrase, “Well, I just don’t see color.”

I call it the look. The slight tilt of the head confused look that people give me when they find out that I am the “weekend” parent.

My son had just lost another tooth. When he looked up at me with his big, brown eyes and asked, “Mommy is the tooth fairy real?”

Be careful what you wish for because at eight years old my son is exactly like his father in this aspect. I'm now raising an outgoing kid and I'm reserved.

I was a good girl from the start. Now I am speaking up, setting boundaries, saying no to the things I don’t want and yes to the things that I do.

What is different now is that I know who I am and what I want. I’m not afraid to be alone and living single. I value my time and my health.

I didn’t see similarities between my mother and I until years later, after I became a mother. The constant conflict hid how my mother and I are alike.