Encouragement

When my children were born, I quickly discovered how parenting is completely a 24/7 job. I knew this ahead of time in my head, but it took a little while for my whole body and frame of mind to adjust. I LOVE being a mother, and my children bring me more joy than I can describe. But whether they are with us, at a friend's house, at school, or with a babysitter, as parents we are always on call and ultimately responsible for them. It was really hard to fully comprehend this the first few months of motherhood, but people told me ahead of time that being a parent ALL of the time would be one of the biggest...

In response to the recent walkout conducted by teenagers all over the US, people took to social media to express their opinions. This didn't surprise me. What did surprise me were the general themes of what I saw in the responses. The very same people who were voicing frustration just days before, following yet another school shooting, were also complaining about how this specific population chose to act on those frustrations. They saw the peaceful protest in commemoration of the fallen and the effort to generate a national conversation about gun violence as ineffective and an immature attempt to skip class.  I guess that's what they think kids are into these days. Teenagers are often decried as being obsessed with...

After I tuck her in and the giggles have turned into quietness and her eyelids are heavy with sleep, I whisper to my child the same thing almost every night, “I love you. You make me proud every day.” I read this phrase in For One More Day by Mitch Albom years ago, a sentimental story in which the narrator recalls the notes his mother left him that always ended with that phrase. It stuck with me. The narrator questions whether or not he’s actually done anything to make his mother proud (and as a reader, it doesn’t seem like he’s done much to make her proud), but still, she tells him, “You make me proud every day.” I love this...

If you work or have kids or are a breathing human being, mornings come every day. Every.Single.Day. And, even for the most morning of morning person, finding a routine to kick off your day can be a challenge. Well, I think I’ve found my magic morning combo. And tricky enough, it actually starts with a nighttime routine. I blogged about a nightly brain dump last month. That’s where it starts. I’ve also set up a “bedtime” routine in my iPhone. There are multiple apps for this same purpose; I’m a big fan of Sleep Cycle as well! I know that 7 hours is a minimum sleep total for me to function. So, if I’m not in bed by 10:30pm, my...

A few weeks ago my life started imploding. Three major events that directly impacted our family happened within the span of 2 weeks. Some of these are things that I never would have imagined happening. One of our very close family members had a frightening health diagnosis that we are all in shock about. Other family members who we are very close to told us they are going through a huge life change that will impact our whole family. In addition, extremely stressful restructuring changes at work have taken a heavy toll on us. While these are things that can happen any time, the fact that they are all happening at once makes it feel so much more jarring. Every...