Here are a few things I published this week:

"How To Teach Your Kids About Screens When Screens Are Your Job" and "How My Day Job Prepared Me For Freelance Life" over at Fast Company.

"8 Rejected Foods All Parents End Up Eating" over at Mom.me.

When I thought about whether or not to take the freelancing plunge, one aspect of it I considered was that I had so many connections that I could take advantage of. I never made them with that purpose in mind, like, "How can this person help me?" Instead, connections to me means "meeting a lot of people and knowing when and whom to consider a source on something when you need one." You know, if I'm doing a story on gardening, who do I know who loves horticulture?

It's even more satisfying somehow when I am helping out a friend who is doing that story on gardening, because I like putting people in touch with each other. I used to know some freelancers who were secretive and stingy with their information and contacts, who wouldn't even tell me what they were working on because I obviously was going to steal their ideas.

I'm sure there are some like that but not the ones I am friends with. Which makes sense -- helping out your friends not only makes you feel less lonely but also, there are very few professional situations where it would harm you to help someone else. And it's just karmically good. It's a very supportive atmosphere for one that can be so ostensibly lonely.