A comic about life

Drawn by Weng Chen. Originally published in Chinese on WeChat, translated here into English.

My oldest was just diagnosed with depression. She’s seeing a doctor and on medication.

A field guide to the Popular Girls of American middle school

My middle-schooler sat me down and explained the whole ecosystem.

June 18, 2026

Surprised? Didn't see that coming?

I'm single again

Niu-ba quit his job, the family moved back to Seattle, and I have a month to myself.

September 9, 2025

Want to see where Mom and Dad lived when we were young?
Is it fun?
I wanna go home.
Come on, come on — you have to see it.

Deserter-style travel: no box-ticking, only surprises

Zero itinerary, three reluctant travelers, and the accidental wins kept coming.

August 19, 2025

Hair a mess
Serious dark circles
Slumped and hunched
Dragging her feet

From an old-guard prestige school to an avant-garde private one — my kid changed in no time

Four months after we swapped Lakeside for Alpha, I barely recognize my kids. In a good way. I think.

April 12, 2025

Hahahaha! Is it finally my turn to be a rent-collecting landlady?

If your nerves are fragile, don't become a landlord in America

Our very first Airbnb guests flooded the bathroom, killed my vintage chaise, and angered the HOA — in one stay.

March 6, 2025

I'm off to blaze a whole new career track!

Four months into the top private school and I'm already transferring my kid — am I crazy?

New job, new city, new experimental school — goodbye Seattle, hello Austin.

December 13, 2024

Lady is all OUT OF STOCK!!
ENERGY

Harder than being a mom: being an introvert mom

Private school, it turns out, is a full-contact sport for extroverts.

October 12, 2024

God, is the pressure really that bad?

American horror story: got the kid into a top private school, and she hates it

One day of tuition costs a five-star hotel night — and she'd rather go back to public school.

September 21, 2024

What is class at a top private school actually like?
So excited! So curious!

One week into the American school year: a report

New private school, week one: zero actual classes, one incredible lunch.

September 12, 2024

Bears! Reindeer! Northern lights!
Buffet! Steak! King crab! …
Wow! Look how BIG the ship is!
Just extremely excited about her first cruise

Seven days drifting at sea taught me eating and sleeping are the only real business

We took the girls on a cruise to Alaska. Nobody was ready to come home.

September 6, 2024

Everyone has done this by now.

February 9, 2022

Our lives lately

February 2, 2022

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