The Mama Bear by Chairman Mom

I am back home!

We had a harrowing roadtrip on Saturday to get here. Paul threw his back out, so eight hours of driving was fun. Plus two kids and three cats. Plus one of the cats broke through TWO carriers, which led to one cat sitting on my lap for the last hour of the drive, and a lot of “GET HIM!” and “EVERYONE STAY CALM!” at 70 miles an hour on the freeway. 

Our car needs a good cleaning, to say the least. 

Yesterday I woke up and planned our going away party (more than 100 people invited, and TYJ, many seem out of town…), planned more meals for while we are here, planned two more playdates, went back to the Exploratorium for the first time in two years, did every single exhibit for five hours, hit up the Ferry Building for treats, walked all the way down to the Giants stadium taking pictures and Boomerangs, hopped in a Lyft, rode bikes, had a friend over for pizza and games, walked my friend back, had a nightcap with them, walked back home, and…this is gonna shock you, but I am EXHAUSTED.  Read more...

I’ve been incredibly annoyed by the marketing and the pressure associated with “hot girl summer.” 

That said, it’s the world we live in, right? And so I’ve had four weeks of non-stop children and adults in town, a lot of pressure around things to do, and kids on summer break to delight. 

And you know what? I legitimately think it gave me heat exhaustion. As I wrote about in my comfort food newsletter this week, I stupidly biked to the art museum in 120-degree heat on Saturday, and I don’t think I quite recovered before launching into my intense work week.  Read more...

Today’s intro is from our contributor Amanda Munday, who’s the founder and CEO of The Workaround and author of Day Nine: A Postpartum Depression Memoir.

In 2018, when my children were four and two years old, I quit my job leading marketing for a high-growth tech startup to open a day care and co-working company.

I jumped off the metaphorical cliff because I’m chronically stubborn. I’m also ambitious and was determined to circumvent the daily logistical and financial barriers of being a new parent trying to climb that corporate ladder. I resented the daily grind of day care drop-off and pickup when others could stay at work longer, not to mention fees that exceeded my mortgage and transportation expenses combined. Read more...

Newsletter editor Lily here.

Well, I’m back from my three weeks down visiting family in Florida, and while there were many positives of the trip, I’m so incredibly excited to be back in my own space with the power to decide how days will be structured. Even just the little things, like getting to choose my dinner time again, is thrilling.

I can’t believe that tomorrow signals that we’re halfway-ish through the summer; that’s just wild to me. And as I think about who I want to be and what I want to do for the rest of the season, my primary focus right now is being a better friend. Read more...

I know a lot of you know the story of Radish. 

I had a dream in 2019 that someone brought me a puppy and said it’s name was Radish and I had the weekend to decide if I was going to keep it or not, because the kids were with their dad, and once they saw it, I couldn’t give it up. 

Over the course of 48 hours in this dream, I decided that actually I was a dog person. That my life could accommodate a dog pretty well. I run every day and go on long walks. I always eat lunch outside in spots that allow dogs. The kids’ school at the time was walking distance from my house with a park just next to it.  Read more...

Today, our four-week July course Rage Rehab starts. 

I didn’t really think I needed this one, because I’m in a pretty good place right now. My kids are thriving, especially Eli, who is the one I worry more about. Our company grew during the pandemic, and we’re in the best position we’ve ever been in. Thanks to months of therapy, my relationship is in a good place. My credit is in good shape and I’m putting away money for retirement, thanks to the Boss Up course. Donald Trump is no longer president and I just don’t look at Twitter or Facebook anymore.  Read more...

In my 20 years in Silicon Valley, I’ve watched many successful people wrestle with a constant tug-of-war between short-term gains and long-term investments. 

Burning out your team? Screaming at your team? Maybe you get some short-term gains. But it doesn’t work long-term. 

Lying to the press? That can juice your valuation in the short term, sure. But the truth comes out eventually. 

Embracing Trumpism? That paid some short-term dividends for Facebook and Twitter. Now they are paying the price with both political parties seeking retribution in different ways and a new tell-all about Facebook knowing about Russian election meddling. Not over, and indeed, the payback is escalating.  Read more...

Talk about bringing a bazooka to a knife fight. 

This past week, we’ve had the kids without camps, with family in town, and with a TON of work to do. I decided to give everyone peace and sanity and a little bit of fun since it’s actually summer. I would take the kids out one day (today we are driving to a resort near San Diego to have s’mores and do water slides all day), and I asked Paul to come up with something for Tuesday to get them out of the house. Ideally, so I could focus and work.  Read more...

Rage Rehab: From Nope to Hope in 4 Weeks starts next Monday!

We have a few slots left in this small, one-time-only course! Want to learn more? Catherine and Adimika are hosting a Clubhouse on rage Tuesday at 7pm EST/4pm PST, and Thursday Catherine and I are hosting a Facebook Live called “I’m Too Mad for Hot Girl Summer.” Both should be incredible, raw and inspiring convos.

Meantime, here’s a post Catherine wrote on Medium about the course! See you MONDAY in the course, where your rage will also be SEEN, loved on, and appreciated, and we’ll come out stronger!  Read more...

Newsletter editor Lily here.

Something happened recently. I’m down in Florida visiting my dad for a few weeks (I hadn’t seen him in person in a year and a half), and guess what? There’s a baby here. My stepsister and brother-in-law’s baby, to be exact.

Here’s a funny fact about me: Babies strangely love me. People roll their eyes when I say this, but I’m telling you that infants get weirdly attached and act very calm around me even if they’re crying with everybody else. It’s odd! Read more...