my family

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Double Pride

This Pride Month, I am feeling a double sort of pride: Pride at being part of the LGBTQ community and pride in my son as he graduates from high school.

Dana, Helen, and baby

How My Family Started: An RIVF Post for Donor Conception Awareness Day

My son is graduating from high school this year, which is making me reflect back to how our family started. Since today is Donor Conception Awareness Day, I thought I’d offer a refreshed version of our experience with reciprocal IVF (my egg; partner’s womb) in hopes of offering some insight or inspiration to others pursuing similar paths.

Dana and Helen

Happy Anniversary to Us

Today, my spouse Helen and I are celebrating our second anniversary in a pandemic and our 28th overall. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather quarantine with than you, dear—and that’s no April Fool’s joke.

Shoes and jump rope

Teamwork Counts: Why I Support Trans Girls in Girls’ Sports

Those who have met me, even briefly, know one thing about me: I’m small. I stand 5’0″ in my socks and I’m not too hefty. I’ve been an athlete all my life, though, and have almost always competed against opponents who are taller and heavier. That’s only one of the reasons why I don’t understand those who want to limit transgender girls’ participation in girls’ sports.

Happy Isolated Anniversary to Us

Isolating from a pandemic isn’t how I wanted my spouse Helen and me to spend our 27th anniversary. We usually go out to dinner and enjoy having someone else do the dishes. This year, we’re stuck at home, properly distancing ourselves from the rest of the world. Still, our weathering the pandemic together says more about our relationship than a fancy meal.

Gay Parent Magazine

Gay Parent Magazine Interviews Mombian

Gay Parent Magazine spoke with me recently about my family, my career, and the origins of Mombian—and the interview is in its latest issue, available now.

Big tree - photo by Dana Rudolph

For the Holidays: Finding Family, Creating Connections

The end-of-year holiday season is hard for me now that my parents have passed. Thanksgiving had always been my Jewish family of origin’s time to gather. My brother and I have continued to celebrate Thanksgiving with our immediate families and his wife’s parents, but the absence of our parents makes the occasion bittersweet. I miss them, too, at Hanukkah, when we always lit a menorah and exchanged gifts. I’m finding comfort this year, however, in a new project to uncover and preserve our family history.

Tree and menorah

Of Food, Festivals, and Family

My family of origin always has our biggest gathering on Thanksgiving. My spouse Helen, our son, and I pretty much party from then until Helen’s birthday in early January, marking Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s along the way.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 07: Dana Rudolph (L) and Katie Couric attend Family Equality Council's "Night At The Pier" at Pier 60 on May 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Family Equality Council)

A Night to Remember

Last night, at Family Equality Council’s Night at the Pier, I was honored to receive the Hostetter-Habib Family Award, while Katie Couric was honored for her work on the National Geographic film Gender Revolution.

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