Kristin van Ogtrop

Van Ogtrop is the author of Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom.

Recent Articles

One Hope for the New Year: A Kinder Culture

A few weeks ago, my eldest son, who is in his first year teaching fourth grade in a public elementary school, decided to put a suggestion box in his classroom, though he wasn’t quite sure...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

Master of None: Or, How We Learned the Dogs Are Secretly In Charge

I’m not sure about you, but even after a dizzying few weeks of national news, I’m still obsessed with Lulu, the would-be CIA explosive-sniffing dog who broke the Internet in October when the agency kicked...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

Safe Gun Policy Doesn't Have to Mean No Guns—Or No Safety

On a recent weekend I was doing some fall cleaning when I uncovered my old T-shirt from the Million Mom March, which took place on Mother’s Day in 2000. I held up that shirt, with...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

Hey! You! Get Off of My Cloud! And Other Tales from the Family-Data-Sharing Economy

'I'm not sure Apple is improving my life by making me feel so old and uncool'

By Kristin van Ogtrop

What Do I Do Now? A Midlife Career Change May Be Just the Challenge You Need

When was the last time you asked yourself what you're good at?

By Kristin van Ogtrop

How This Family of Worrywarts Copes In an Age of Anxiety

The beauty — and limits — of 'possible vs. probable'

Invasion of the Garden Snatcher and Other Tales of Suburban Apocalypse

Ah, June. The absolute best month of the year. Such a happy month, so full of promise! School winds down, temperatures warm up, and my little suburban patch of the world bursts with green blooming...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

A Letter of Apology to a Son Graduating from College

'Maybe every joy carries a bit of regret'

By Kristin van Ogtrop

How My Vacuum Cleaner Helped Me Stop Worrying

Automated gadgets have some existential purpose — at least in my house

By Kristin van Ogtrop

The Most Important Difference Between an Elite Athlete and a Middle-Aged Writer

It’s the year of the improbably-old-but-still-indomitable athlete, which basically means the rest of us have a new way to feel bad about ourselves.First Lindsey Vonn, 32, breaks her arm in November–damaging a nerve and temporarily...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

The Crucial Difference Between Christmas and a Trip to the Store

‘Twas the night the corkscrew went missing when I realized I may no longer understand the true meaning of Christmas. At least when it comes to gift-giving, and what it is meant to accomplish.On that...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

How to Recover from This No Good, Very Bad Election Season and All Its Spooky Horrors

And now we’re all just trying to recover.It’s been a rough few months. Unless you were living on the International Space Station, you felt it–a rising sense of hysteria as our fine nation barreled toward...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

My Household Get-out-the-vote Campaign Hits a Teen Roadblock

When another son went off to college this past summer, I made it clear that I required four things of him:1. Eat vegetables2. Get good grades3. Make friends4. Register to voteMy son is going to...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

Dear Mr. Putin: Here's Why You Should Help Save My Beloved BlackBerry

Perhaps it’s too much to ask, but I’m hoping that somehow, some way, the Russians can save my BlackBerry.I’ve been trying to follow this summer’s email-hacking stories, which seem to have as many twists as...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

What This 'Good Enough' Mother Learned from an Extraordinary Babysitter

In the 21 years I have been a mother, I have employed five babysitters for my three boys. Our first babysitter broke her shoulder in our Brooklyn apartment and threatened to sue us. Our second...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

There’s a Difference Between a Boss and a Friend

And that’s as it should be

By Kristin van Ogtrop

Don’t Make Me Rate You

A plea to every business that has my credit-card number

By Kristin van Ogtrop

How Things Get Messy When I Take My Boss Act Home

What do my kids think I do for a living? Fire people

By Kristin van Ogtrop

In Which We Explore the Utterly Perplexing Art of Decluttering With Joy

“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” Every year at this time some dusty chamber of my brain unlocks, and out pop those lines from Tennyson. And then I...

By Kristin van Ogtrop

Facebook? Check. Twitter? Check. Instagram? Check. Snapchat? I Give Up

A mother caves

By Kristin van Ogtrop
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