Encouragement

Do you like getting together with friends but feel intimidated by having them over? While I love looking forward to more elaborate events planned ahead of time, it's also fun to be spontaneous with impromptu gatherings. I love to plan dinners and parties, whether they are at my house or someone else's. I used to think that having people over took a lot of time and planning, but now I also like the freedom of getting something together just a day or two before. These days entertaining is about recharging and relaxing from a busy week, which lets me focus on having fun with other people instead of stressing about food or lots of preparation.  Here are some easy ways...

Dearest Friend,  Thank you. Thank you for opening up to me about your struggles, your insecurities, your marriage and your life. Thank you for teaching me what vulnerability really means. Thank you for being transparent in a world where so many of us, including myself, are afraid of being authentic and strive to present ourselves as though we are happier and better off than we really are.  We only met a little over a year ago. We have no real history or longevity between us. In some ways, that made it easier for me to open up to you when I began what would become the most difficult and life altering time in my life. You live over an hour away. If...

Who doesn't get excited about a baby announcement? Your own, a family member, a friend, or even a stranger's announcement is exciting. It is all hunky-dory until someone brings up the whole gender topic and not in a "I can't wait to meet him or her!' 'Oh how I hope you have a boy!' I never truly understood the whole gender bias thing until I was expecting. When I found out my first was a girl, I will never forget the comment "Good luck with a girl!" (Insert Major, Major Eye Roll!) Really?! I was pretty excited to have a girl. Thoughts of future manicures and girl talks filled my head. The comment was forgotten in a matter of seconds. Then...

I knew I was pregnant on my twenty-seventh birthday. I had wanted a baby for so long, though, that I didn't want to spoil my birthday if I took a test and it was negative. So the day after my birthday, I took a test and sure enough two pink lines confirmed what I already knew. My friend was one of the first people that I told about the pregnancy. I was in her van, and we pulled over onto the side of the road so she could give me a hug and then we, well, squealed together with excitement. I was a little queasy for a few days, and then it stopped. I thought I had just gotten lucky...

It's one of my favorite times of the year, when fall is in full force, and people are cheering for their favorite team. School has been in session for a few months, and we are in a regular routine. We can say who we are rooting for, and we can say what we like about our team. We can also say what we don't like about the other teams or their fans. It's easy to label people for who they cheer for or what they stand for, whether it's football or something else.  As a parent, I hear other labels. There are labels that are so easy for us to use to describe other parents or their children. But our...