Encouragement

You know what they say about the word never. "Never say never!" These were the lyrics sung by a cartoon mouse and bird in one of my favorite childhood movies, "An American Tail" but the irony of the statement escaped me until I was older. There were plenty of things I said I'd NEVER do, especially with regard to parenthood. These NEVER statements began early. "I would NEVER have a c-section." I'm now the proud bearer of a c-scar.  "My kid would NEVER use a pacifier" was amended to "past age 1" and then again to "except at night." NEVER would I allow my children to watch more than a certain amount of TV. You can read about how well...

I think we can all agree that parenting and mommyhood can be supremely isolating. Stay at home moms, working moms, work from home moms … so many combos these days and all of them have their own quirks and differences. But in that, I find myself often wondering, am I the only one like me? This question is born out of some frustration and true wonder. Am I the only full-time working single mom in a demanding career job? Am I the only mom who has a flexible daytime, but not necessarily available for playdates? I can't tell you how many times I have been asked for a weekday playdate, and I explain AGAIN that I work full-time. "Oh like ACTUALLY full-time?!" Am...

Recently I've found myself feeling lost within a few minutes of driving. My route these days is not familiar, much like my life. The house where we are currently staying is in a different part of town than our own house. I don't know these streets like the back of my hand, having to take different interstate exits and back roads. My autopilot-driving mindset is completely thrown off, constantly causing me to forget where I am. Our house flooded about a month ago. Thankfully we only had a few inches of water. While the walls have dried, the pile of furniture and debris has been removed from our front curbs and we're beginning to rebuild; the dust still hasn't really settled. The fog caused by what has been coined...

Have you ever heard someone say, "I can't wait until..." Usually, that's followed by something like, "... our beach vacation!" or "... the kids go to bed." And those are both GREAT things to be classically impatient about. In fact, they're both super-awesome and I wouldn't begrudge anyone for wishing the time to fly by so they can put their toes in the ocean or put away a few cookies. Alone. On the sofa. This isn't the kind of impatience that hurts us. It doesn't rob us of an experience or wish away a memory - it's anticipatory. We're still living our lives and making memories or in-the-moment while we're waiting to get to build that sand castle. This gentle warning...

Texting. Goodness gracious, can I give the inventor of texting a loud and proud high five? Texting is a wonderful way to quickly communicate with each other. I love texting and prefer it over phone calls while juggling homework, cooking supper, and putting on a load of laundry in the evenings. However the downfall to texting for me is in the act of actually responding. Every.Single.Day. My phone dings, signifying a text has come through. I glance at my phone and read the message. Then somewhere in the process of replying in my head and actually typing it out there is a misfire, a distraction that keeps me from responding. I put my phone down, then POOF, my mind is on to the next thing. That little red number on my...