Angie McCullagh

Idea: Green Freak wasn’t the first flash fiction I ever wrote, but it’s the first flash story of mine that was published. About six years ago, climate change anxiety gripped me, back when climate experts warned us about keeping the earth’s temperature from escalating more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (now most experts expect the planet to warm at l...

"I was not ready to accept this punch to my marriage or my identity, so I decided to ask my gynecologist for a referral to a pelvic floor physical therapist."

I want to want my husband of 20 years. He’s tall, smart, kind, and blisteringly handsome in an Ichabod Crane way, which is the way I like. We were hot and heavy in our early days, ferrying across the Puget Sound to meet up and make out at various bars, sleeping over, reaching for each other in the m...

When my kids were younger, I would have been that parent, the one who would track them, especially if it didn’t involve taping foil to their heads and beaming a laser in their direction. Now my teens use phones, but kids’ smart watches are gaining in popularity as a beginning step to semi-monitored independence.
Bonus: Watches are better than phones, at least for young kids, because you can strap the devices to small wrists, helping to prevent loss. With the arrival of warm summer days, watch...

From the moment my now-nineteen-year-old son, Max, sluiced into the world, blue and silent, I suspected my motherhood journey would be atypical. But I never imagined how far off the normal curve we’d stray.
Born, but not yet alive, Max was resuscitated by a dedicated NICU crew while I battled a fever. I was only hazily aware of my husband leaning over my bed, assuring me “You did the best you could.” It took days to feel the cold, licking gusts of fear, reminding me how close we’d come to dis...

During the few precious minutes of alone time you get in the bathroom, you might start noticing a few unwelcome changes to your appearance. It's inevitable as we age, but those wrinkles, gray hairs and brown spots can get you down. First of all, give yourself some credit. Between work, school, child care, cooking and all the other responsibilities to juggle (including a global pandemic), no one blames you for not worrying about your hair and skin. But if you want a little assistance in the be...

I’m sitting on the couch late at night, scared and scrolling through my Facebook group that focuses on type 1 diabetes. I’m looking for advice on why my teenage son might be experiencing extremely high blood sugar. I receive replies within minutes: The site where his insulin pump enters his body could be infected, or it may be sickness or allergies.
In this group, and other similar Facebook groups I belong to, people ask for extra vials of insulin, a spare continuous glucose monitor, supplies...

There are lots of good reasons, and ways, to get guidance from the adults in your life
We all go through hard times. Sometimes it's as clear-cut as a broken bone or being overlooked for a part in the school play. Other times, our 99 problems may include something deeper and more mysterious to us, like a mental health issue we're having trouble understanding and dealing with on our own. But as a teen, how do you approach adults to get your point across without freaking them out?
First of all, ...

A few weeks ago, my sixteen-year-old daughter asked if we could skip Thanksgiving this year.
I blinked at her, taken aback. No turkey, mashed potatoes, or pumpkin pie? When I asked why she’d make such a peculiar request, she said, “Thanksgiving honors the white genocide of Indigenous people.” She used those exact words and made clear that she didn’t feel right about participating.
I protested, though I couldn’t really articulate why. Wasn’t Thanksgiving all about gratitude and spending time w...

In news that is not really news to parents with kids on social media, a former Facebook employee recently released internal memos that the app Instagram, which Facebook (now Meta) owns, harms teen girls’ mental health. While this isn’t a shock to most parents, we still get that kids will turn to social media to connect with friends and follow influencers they admire. But what happens when those influencers present polished, believable posts about things that veer perilously close to toxic wel...

As the first day of school skulks closer and kids younger than 12 remain unvaccinated, we’re approaching zero hour on figuring out how to keep our kids safe this fall. The CDC recommends that children ages 2 and older wear masks when indoors. And, while the fine folks at the CDC may not be the ones fielding complaints about sweaty faces and fogged glasses, they are most likely right.
As most experts assert, the best masks are masks kids will actually put on and keep on. Ideally, those masks w...

Most of us can probably agree that thrifting for cute and sturdy pre-owned kids’ clothes is superior to shopping for new, shiny outfits, at least when it comes to sustainability and the health of our bank accounts. Children grow out of clothes and toys as fast as lightning.
Recognizing the speed at which kids burn through their things, we’ve compiled a list of consignment and resale stores around Seattle for when it’s time to equip, replenish and upgrade.
Located in the heart of West Seattle,...

It seems safe to say that after a year of lockdown, normal life finally shimmers on the not too distant horizon. Maybe you’ve spent the past 12 months simply surviving, working, and taking care of your family, itching for an hour to write. Possibly you’ve enjoyed vast stretches of solo time, but maybe no motivation to put pen to paper or to open your digital document. Whatever your pandemic situation, you’re not alone if you feel FOMO about writing objectives left unaccomplished.
COVID vaccin...

Almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are indebted to essential workers who’ve stocked and sold us groceries, tended our dental and medical issues, removed trash, put out fires and taught our children. So, how do we repay the people who hazard their own health to keep society up and running?