Maggie Downs

Ten mothers define motherhood

How Films Helped Me Through Postpartum Depression

I Went to the Hospital to Give Birth…And Tested Pos...

I do not want much this Christmas time
There is but one thing I need.
It is not a gift that can be placed beneath the holiday tree,
The house is fill’d with merriment, I breathe the fragrance of the festivities,
I invite my soul to celebrate.
I do not require to hang my stocking
Thereupon the fireplace
My hair, my tongue, every atom in my body form’d from this air
feeds the Yuletide fire
and the very spread of my thighs proclaims noel.
I would only like for my own—more than you could ever kno...

The high desert wind carries a tune that Joshua Tree musicians have played for a long time.

At This Unique Flower Show, Weeds Are the Stars | T...

Reading alone, together, at a table for introverts.

When I moved to California a decade ago, a colleague drove me from one end of the Coachella Valley to the other.
We started in Palm Springs, the stylish desert town known for its sleek modernist architecture and pool party vibe, and drove east. We rambled past Indio’s manicured polo fields, home to the Coachella music festival, all the way to Mecca, a community embedded in one of the most prolific agricultural regions in the nation.
That’s where my colleague stopped the car at a roadside prod...

At a sleek house in the Historic Tennis Club neighborhood of Palm Springs, the chefs are introduced through other senses instead. It’s all about scent and sound. Walk up the driveway, and you already know who’s inside.
There’s the discordant clang of pans pulled from shelves. The shimmy and whistle of a simmering pot. Knives making contact with cutting boards. A cork’s deep sigh as it’s released from the wine bottle.
The air is laced with intoxicating smells. It’s an enchanting mix of renderi...

Vows column: Contributor credit: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/fashion/weddings/ricky-phung-sharon-zhen-marriage.html?action=click&contentCollection=Weddings&pgtype=imageslideshow&module=RelatedArticleList&region=CaptionArea&version=SlideCard-1

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In winter, a different kind of snowbird flocks to the desert. Find out what drives them.

That time I was mistaken for Prince's girlfriend.

Parenting, after all, is kind of like the ultimate reality show. It's about assessing your challenges and transforming them into something manageable. I didn't need to make things perfect; I just needed to make it work....

The Perfect Family, Courtesy of Photoshop - Essay for Racked