Mental Health

The first thing you need to know about me is that I’m a secret introvert. I use the word secret because, from a casual observer’s point of view, I’m anything but. I spend my days bouncing in front of a gaggle of high school students, ranting at the top of my lungs about U.S. History and Government. I have to fight against the little glowing black box that they sit in front of for their attention, and I lose more battles than I win. Then I meet the sunset with my trusty Canon DSLR and act like a monkey clanging symbols so a family with toddlers can be photographed. Finally, I go home where I weave in and out...

As we roll into 2020, gear up for Mardi Gras and a new decade, I have made the decision to stop checking out via social media. I spent too much time on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as a way to get through 2019. While it’s not a new me, I am hoping to bring an improved version of me into 2020 and beyond. Delete…. I realized that I was not as present as I wanted to be when it came to spending time with the kids and the husband. Facebook got a lot of scrolling out of me in 2019, so it was the first app I deleted on my phone. I now check Facebook one to two times a day...

A question was posed to me recently: Why are you filling every waking moment with a task? Outside of being obsessed with crossing things off my to-do list once accomplished, I couldn’t answer that question. Newsflash: You are not a bad mother or wife if every waking second is not filled with some task or chore to complete. I could delve into the psychology behind this, but I won’t. I will say this – I quickly realized that my husband and children aren’t going to end up unhappy, unfulfilled or in therapy because I didn’t fold a load of clothes at night instead of spending time with them. They will, however, remember that I didn’t spend time with them because I...

I feel like I am finally coming up for air after a few months of being in a funk. I cannot tell you exactly what caused said funk but I was there. Most days when people asked how I was doing, I really wanted to respond with "surviving." There was nothing major going on, we were our normal busy people, I just could not shake not feeling dragged down. I am coming out of that now. I feel like I am finally catching my breath. I like to remember that in life there are hills and valleys ... I have been in a valley lately. I came out of my funk with a mixture of girlfriend time away, remembering that...

So much about how you look at the world changes when you become a mother. A twenty-minute shower can feel like a day at the spa, you realize you never really knew what it meant to be tired, and getting your hands on a free box of diapers is the equivalent to winning the lottery. And while I have experienced all of these and more, the biggest change for me has been an increased awareness that most people, adults, and children, truly are doing the best they can.  It started when I found out that I was pregnant. I remember looking at pregnant women and thinking, “Oh, I’m going to be the type that doesn’t let pregnancy phase me. I’ll...