Last spring I joined a growing tech startup in an exciting emerging industry. I’ve always loved working for startups because I really enjoy the frantic pace, the frustrating-yet-rewarding growing pains, and growing my professional skills by having to assume multiple roles. This startup is actually one of the more promising I’ve worked for — we have strong leadership, smart, passionate employees, and are establishing ourselves as a major contender in our industry. There’s one small detail that makes my job especially interesting: it’s in the cannabis space. In May, I joined a company called Leafly, which is a leading cannabis information resource. I hear all sorts of groan-worthy, eye-rolling comments whenever I tell people where I work; lots of “Do you guys all get high at work?” (no), “So is there like a huge bowl of weed at the reception desk instead of candy?” (no), “Man, how do you get anything done there?” (because it’s a real job with real responsibilities? What’s not to get?). I serve as the company’s Content, Community, and Engagement Manager and have built a small but growing team to handle all of the projects that have a content component to them, plus we manage the site’s News & Culture and Knowledge Center sections and our brand’s social media presence. Honestly, it’s a great company and my fellow employees and I work very hard to grow Leafly into a fantastic resource for recreational consumers and medical patients alike. I’m happy in what I do for the company and am really excited at the possibility of growing my role as Leafly grows. (And, let’s face it, it’s a job that guarantees there will never be a dull moment or boring day at work.) My friends were overwhelmingly supportive and most of my family didn’t seem to care when I told them about my new job. (Jason’s grandmother is one exception, and my oldest brother was a bit “WTF” but he was more amused than disapproving.) I was, however, a bit hesitant to tell my mom because I was a little worried about how she’d react. I don’t really know what her stance is on cannabis so I wasn’t sure whether she’d think I was doing something...

On October 12, my boyfriend of nine years surprised me with a pretty epic engagement while we were in New York City. It involved a pre-recorded message from an American Gladiator and it was appropriately perfect given how goofy-schmoopy (goopy? that doesn’t sound right) our relationship is. The day after Jason proposed, I called Mom to break the good news. Mom: “High bay-beee! Whatchoo doing?” Me: “Hi, Mom. We’re in New York City until tomorrow. I just wanted to call and tell you that we finally got engaged!” Mom: “Hahahahahahahaha!” Me: “…..” I wasn’t sure how my mom would react to the news, but I definitely didn’t expect heavy laughter. Me: “Uh…” Mom: “It’s about ti-iiiiiiiime!!” She actually said that in a singsong voice. Me: “Yeah, I know, we’ve been together forever.” Mom: “No, is okay. Is good. You two more shuh-cure now, good to wait until you ready.” Me: “Yeah, definitely.” Mom: “Jason good man, smart man, he take good care of you.” Me: “Yep, that’s why we’re together. You want to talk to him?” Mom: “Oh-kayyyyy!” I handed the phone to Jason and heard a loud “Con-grat-choo-LAY-shuns!!!” through the phone. Jason laughed and had a polite conversation with the future diminutive in-law before handing the phone back over. Mom wasn’t as happy-shocked as my friends thought she would be, but I wasn’t too surprised since she has two other children who have gone through the marriage/kids milestones already; plus, Jason and I have been together long enough that an eventual engagement wasn’t too out-of-the-ordinary. After I got back to Seattle and we got my engagement ring re-sized and the design tweaked, I sent a picture of it to my mom. I had always told Jason that I wasn’t interested in diamonds, partly because of my half-white guilt over how dangerous and exploitative the diamond trade business is, and partly because I feel it’s a waste of money to spend on an artificially inflated commodity. Jason heeded my request and bought me a simple white gold band with nine cubic zirconia embedded in it. I think it’s just as pretty as a more lavish engagement ring and nobody knows the stones are fake until I tell them. So...