The Daily Mira

So Swine Flu is on a comeback tour, Jaycee Dugard's 18 years in captivity has terrorized the collective parental mind, and Levi Johnston is critiquing Sarah Palin's mothering skills in a Vanity Fair tell-all? Sounds like the perfect week to go back to work!

Hi, I'm Mira, Shine's new Parenting editor. As the parent of an almost-1-year old, I'm a relatively new mom and a slightly obsessive reader of all things related to parenting, which, as you know, can make anyone straight-up crazy.

For the record, I prefer to think of myself as slightly crazy with a dash of wry. I also prefer to think of myself as a pretty good mom, a task that gets a little harder when faced with twin drumbeats of preparedness and paranoia. There's so much to know! So much to do! So much to know you were supposed to do! You know that dream where you show up at work/school/Dancing with the Stars naked? I've been harboring the take-away emotions from that moment since I became a mom. Exposed? Check. Vulnerable? Check. Really wanting a sparkly, new, non-maternity wardrobe? Triple check.

Which is all to say, I'm really looking forward to doing my job here. There's something genuinely reassuring about filtering through the day's developments with other parents, and realizing we're all facing the same joys, fears, and problems. Couple that with the fact that I work from my living room, so showing up naked won't bother anyone, and you've got one new Shine editor ready to rumba! See you tomorrow.