High School

The days have not been pleasant, but the memes have been nothing short of gold. A nation of children suddenly barred from their schools. Parents and guardians left analyzing Moodle, Google classroom, or pages of light grey workbook pages. Some set up makeshift classrooms in the dining room, others at the kitchen counter. Suddenly my J.K. Rowling inner monologue clues me onto one certainty – teachers everywhere are universally appreciated. As the first week crawled along like an 18-wheeler with the parking brake engaged, there was a small shift in the narrative I could see in my social media: pledges of a lack of parent-led teaching at home, and the world is now a classroom. I certainly have empathy for those...

There are playdates, pregnancy groups, and mommy groups of many kinds. I see them at parks or whenever I’m scrolling my newsfeed on Facebook. I think that’s awesome, after all- giving birth is some WORK, y’all. It takes its toll on the body, on the spirit, and on self-confidence. Afterward, we mamas have months of sleepless nights, leaky breasts, and crying babies. We hear going into motherhood how HARD pregnancy can be, newborns can be, toddlers can be, and then we quickly discover that everybody was right as soon as our babies hit all of those milestones. There’s just a part of parenthood that isn’t talked about as much, and I’ve yet to see any support groups for it… TEENAGERS. RAISING TEENAGERS IS HARD AF. Give...

School lunches! Whether you’re packing because you have to or because your picky eater just can’t handle school lunch, packing lunch can be a daunting task! How does one keep from packing PB&J every dang day?! We’ve got a little hack at my house! I’ve seen the awesome moms that have buckets of lunch approved items & the kids (or parents grab something from each basket for a well balanced meal. And it’s awesome, but our tiny cabinetry doesn’t allow for such a set up. BUT we have found keeping a list of each kids food preferences helps. Our lists are broken down into categories: veggies, fruit, grains, dairy, protein, sandwiches, snacks, & dips. Our kids eat a pretty good...

I was 15 years old on a road that was almost to my school. I was a sophomore riding with a senior to school. I looked at her and asked her to pull over. I was so sick, and just so glad I was able to not get sick all over her car. I was mortified. Why was I sick? My acne medication. I was 16 and in a swimsuit at a party. The girls were chatting with me regarding their hair, down there. "Ugh, I just shave it all. It's so gross." I looked down and crossed my legs. I thought it was natural. I didn't even know a razor could get that close to my area. I was 16...

We're all smiling, but we're bracing for each other. Every year our school has a “back-to-school” night. The parents of my students, most of them moms, drop in for a short amount of time. I scurry through a PowerPoint, make a couple of jokes about using an old textbook, and take routine, innocuous questions at the end of my speech. Then I shake a lot of hands as they all leave, knowing our next encounters could range from the joyous to the depths of frustration. As they leave, I can’t help but feel there is more I want to say to them – more that would make the unpleasant conversations have a happier ending, more that would secure a tighter circle...