One blog post at a time.
This past year has been one of the hardest—and most beautiful—chapters of my life. It was a year filled with seismic shifts: the dismantling of…
For most of my career at USAID, I lived by one quiet motto: fake it till you make it. And for a long time, it…
Finding a job in this economy feels like its own full-time work—except it doesn’t come with a paycheck, benefits, or any clear sense of progress.…
Unconventional relationships have been the thread running through my life lately, and this one might be the most unexpected of all. I met him in…
I am a displaced federal worker and the creator behind this blog.
Part 1 of the series: Navigating the Safety Net I’ve spent most of my career inside large, complex systems—working in foreign assistance, public sector programs, and institutions designed to respond to crisis. I understood, intellectually, how safety nets worked. What I didn’t fully grasp—until it happened to me—was how destabilizing it feels when your own…
Preparing for a baby is supposed to be joyful, intentional, and maybe even a little Pinterest-worthy. But what happens when you’re doing it while unemployed, navigating DC’s high cost of living, and genuinely unsure what city—or continent—you’ll be living in by spring? That’s where I’ve found myself. When I bought my DC rowhome, I imagined…
When I learned I was pregnant at 40 with gestational diabetes, I assumed I’d have a low-risk vaginal birth. But reality reshaped everything — from how I think about labor positions and induction to how I plan for my child’s safety. After a consultation on MAVEN Clinic, I began asking my care team hard questions…
Bureaucrat to Baby Steps 