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My youngest son is 28. I’m still paying his phone bill.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

I can honestly state that I have no favorite child.

I wouldn’t say I love all five of them equally, because I don’t think that’s possible. I love each one for who they are. There are four boys and one girl.

I’m a big believer in the influence of birth order. And my kids are proof that the birth order stereotypes can be true.

I have a different relationship with each of my children

My oldest has definitely assumed the role of leader, especially after my kids’ father moved out. When he was 2, a caregiver supervising the toddlers in my mother’s group asked if he was an only child. Apparently, he wasn’t good at sharing. He learned to share when, after two miscarriages, I gave birth to his brother. He became a doting sibling and, from that day forward, oversaw the well-being of all the children in the house.

Very soon after my 2nd son’s birth, I became pregnant again, so this child was 2 when his brother was born. I felt guilty for diverting time from him to care for the newborn, but perhaps that’s why he’s always been my most self-sufficient, content to spend his time on solo adventures.

Personality-wise, my 3rd son is most like me. We tend to lead with our emotions. He’s also the family connector, working hard to sustain all our relationships.

Adoption changed the family dynamic

My daughter joined us as a 6-month-old foster child. We’d been doing foster care for a few years with several children cycling in and out of our family before she arrived. I have to commend my boys for controlling the daily chaos of our expanded family. My oldest would organize games after dinner and keep everyone’s excess energy in check. All three shared their rooms, their toys, and me without complaint, which was essential at the time.

It took over nine years to complete my daughter’s adoption, but even before it was finalized, the boys seamlessly accepted her as a sister. When she was in kindergarten, she started begging for a baby. She wanted a sister to balance the household’s male energy. I gave her another brother.

My oldest and my youngest share a birthday, 16 years apart

My youngest son was born on his oldest brother’s 16th birthday. His other siblings were 13, 11, and 7 years old. This age gap meant that, for most of his life, my youngest lived as an only child.

I was probably at my most confident in raising him, having already ushered the others into adolescence and beyond. Most of his elementary school friends were first children with mothers who panicked about everything.

While his brothers and sister learned to drive, applied to college, and ultimately moved out to experience adulting, he and I built a partnership as our own mini unit within the bigger family.

I shifted from home-based work to an outside job when he was in 4th grade. It was at the new school that my daughter attended. When I added hours the next year, he joined me, skipping 5th grade and enrolling in 6th, so he did not have to attend an after-school program in our hometown, 45 minutes away.

Maybe I am most connected to my youngest

He was close to two years younger than most of his male classmates, which concerned me when it came time for high school. We switched schools for 8th grade so he could repeat without embarrassment, and then again for high school, before making a cross-country move together that reunited us with his older siblings, who had preceded us westward. Each time I worked at the school, he attended.

When this youngest son moved out for college, I found myself living alone for the first time in 34 years. He’s 28 now and married, and the only one of my children who still lives nearby. I toy with the idea of moving closer to my other kids, especially my 2nd son, who’s the father of my grandchildren, but I’m having a hard time detaching. Maybe it’s because we experienced so many monumental moments together. Or maybe it’s because he was the last of my children and kept me tethered to the role of mother for the longest time.

Is that why he’s still on my cellphone plan? I’m not ready to kick him off. It’s not that he can’t afford the service. No, I continue to keep him on my plan because it’s one way for me to maintain the role I cherish — mother.




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I’m stuck in Dubai after our flight was canceled. I’m paying more than $650 a night for a hotel.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kunal Trehan, a luxury interior designer. It has been edited for length and clarity.

We arrived in Dubai on February 20th to expand our business into the UAE, fully expecting to fly home to the UK on February 28th at 10:20 p.m. local time.

On Saturday, the day we intended to leave, we decided to chill by the beach connected to our hotel. Around midday, we heard what sounded like an explosion — a very faint but deep sound. My partner and I assumed it was demolition until an hour later, when people started messaging me on WhatsApp asking if I was OK. I couldn’t understand what they were worried about.


Two men posing for photo inside a car

Kunal Trehan and his partner are stuck in Dubai after the airport closed.

Courtesy of Kunal Trehan



I quickly opened the Qatar Airways app and saw that our flight had been canceled. I started to freak out a bit, wondering if something was going on and how we would escape.

We heard more explosions

As we sat on the beach, still trying to figure out what was happening and what to do next, we could hear more explosions and see accompanying clouds of smoke in the distance. We rushed inside, with me telling my pragmatic self to stay calm and not to panic.

In the evening, more explosions could be heard. We could see the orange light of missiles racing across the sky. We didn’t know where they were being launched from or who was launching them.

I was getting increasingly nervous after looking at the news and social media online. Hotel staff told guests to come inside from their balconies and close their room curtains. Everyone obeyed.

By this point, the sky had become a large plume of smoke over the Fairmont hotel. In the lobby, people were notably panicked. It felt quite claustrophobic, unsettling.

We got emergency alerts on our phones

At midnight, my partner and I got ready to head to sleep when we heard yet another explosion. We opened our curtains, and it looked as if a missile was headed right towards us. Our phones started alarming with the emergency government message to take shelter. “What the hell do we do?” I asked my partner.


Emergency alert

Kunal Trehan received emergency alerts on his phone.

Courtesy of Kunal Trehan



Hotel staff knocked, told us to gather our passports and valuables, and to make our way to the basement. The basement was a concrete-floored area. People were perched on the ground, the elderly in chairs. The staff was doing what they could to calm people and make them as comfortable as possible, providing pillows and blankets.

Even the staff, many of whom are locals, were alarmed. They’ve told us that they haven’t experienced this before. We’ve tried to calm others, to make sure they’re OK.

For three hours, we stayed in the basement, but eventually made our way back to the room as my sciatica was flaring up. We had two hours of sleep in our room before we were woken by another explosion around 9 a.m. on Sunday.

We are advised to stay inside the hotel

The hotel has continued to advise people to stay inside — although we know we aren’t directly being attacked, we are caught in the crossfire of a war, and who knows what could fall from the sky. We’ve followed the advice given to us and done what we can to stay safe.


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Kunal Trehan had to take shelter in the hotel’s basement.

Courtesy of Kunal Trehan



We’ve asked to move hotel rooms to a first-floor room. If our hotel gets hit, we’d rather be able to get outside quickly. My partner and I keep reminding each other that, for right now, we are relatively safe.

But whereas yesterday, I felt a sense of purpose in helping others, today, I’m feeling very flat. We are incredibly fortunate, yet completely out of control, and have no idea when we will be able to get home.

We are paying $670 a night at the hotel

Fortunately, we have the funds to continue paying for our hotel room, which is about $670 a night, and to eat and buy necessities. Our meal tonight — just mains and water — came to about $120. We haven’t been told that any of this will be reimbursed by our travel insurance company.


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Kunal Trehan and his partner moved to a first-floor room in case they need to evacuate.

Courtesy of Kunal Trehan



Over and over, my partner and I speak of how lucky we are. Lucky that we are safe. Lucky that we have money to stay here. Lucky that we didn’t attempt to go to the airport. And yet, we are still so worried. So many emotions — from fear to gratitude.

Our friends and family are so worried for us — we have had hundreds of messages asking how we are. No matter how much we tell them we are safe, their worry continues, and we can hear it in their message and voice notes.

We are hoping to fly out on Thursday, but nothing is set in stone. Just another thing out of our control for now.




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American Eagle’s bet on Sydney Sweeney and Aerie’s anti-AI pledge are paying off big time

by with No Comment Xpandfy

American Eagle’s marketing campaigns are giving the company a meaningful boost.

The retailer has launched a number of campaigns this year that have been at the center of viral moments online.

It looks like they’re paying off financially. Its stock has been up this year, and its total revenue was $1.4 billion for the third quarter that ended November 1, roughly 6% higher year-over-year.

American Eagle raised forward-looking guidance for the fourth quarter, and its stock rose at least 10% after hours on Tuesday.

The boost was driven by its intimates and loungewear brand, Aerie, which saw comparable sales rise by 11%. While other retailers are spending big on AI products for consumers, Aerie is making a promise not to use the technology.

Its pledge not to use AI in its ads, shared in an Instagram post, garnered tens of thousands of likes, making it the brand’s most popular post in the past year as of October, Metricool, which tracks social media engagement, told Business Insider in October.

Its success is also due in part to the star power it tapped into with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce being featured in campaigns that gained traction on social media.

Sweeney’s “Great Jeans” partnership in July drew criticism online from some who said the campaign had a negative message that promoted “regressive” beauty standards. American Eagle tripled down on the campaign.

“Sydney Sweeney sells great jeans. She is a winner, and in just six weeks, the campaign has generated unprecedented new customer acquisition,” chief marketing officer Craig Brommers said in September.

In August, American Eagle released a clothing line in collaboration with NFL star Travis Kelce and his Tru Kolors brand, one day after he announced his engagement to Taylor Swift.

The two campaigns combined made up 44 billion impressions, as it attracted more customers “than ever before.”

“American Eagle launched its largest, most impactful advertising campaigns ever, which are delivering results by collaborating with high-profile partners who are defining culture,” president and executive creative director Jen Foyle said on the Tuesday call.

The brand is not done forming an all-star cast of celerity partners. The most recent campaign is with Martha Stewart, and American Eagle is betting it’ll be a hit with Gen Z customers.

“Martha Stewart resonates with Gen Z. That’s a perfect example of what we’re up to,” Foyle said.




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