News & Current Events

In 2016, the Great Flood came through and wiped out 98% of my town. I was part of the 2% left dry. Not only were people’s homes underwater, but their businesses were too. Which meant no home, no work, and we all know insurance and FEMA take a hot minute. The horror stories of “big box charities” were rolling out. I felt frozen in the fear of doing something wrong, but I wanted to help. I just jumped in with a 13-month-old on my hip I made a live video on Facebook. I requested donations to go, delivering snacks and groceries door to door. I would head to the churches, pick up cleaning kits and deliver with food. That...

As I write this, I've got The Weather Channel on in the background watching all-too-familiar scenes of hurricane coverage. We know that the storm will pass and the recovery can last for years. The anticipation leading up to the storm is excellent attention-grabbing news. Shots of storm surge ushering damaging water into coastal homes, leaving destruction (and sand-filled living rooms) are fascinating. Watching the roof come off of a gas station is ... interesting. Watching the trees bend to the point of near breaking behind a kamikaze weather man from the comfort of my couch (this time) is ... entertaining(?). After the storm, the news coverage will taper off. The weather man and his full-body slicker have lived to fight...

Several weeks ago, I grabbed my husband’s phone, opened the browser, and immediately cracked up laughing. “Boy mom” was typed in the search bar, and the results were about 15 pages of answers to the question “What does #boymom mean?” “Did you really search boy mom?” I asked him. “Yeah, I saw it on a bumper sticker on a minivan, and I figured it meant all boy kids but thought there was surely more to it. There’s not.” I laughed again, but then launched into a discussion of how much I detest the term “boy mom.” I mean, I truly loathe it. I don’t see #girlmom nearly as often, and a recent Instagram search showed me just how much more pervasive...

There is no doubt about it :: this is the age of social media. As a matter of fact, I am sure you found this post through a link that was posted on Facebook. While social media is the way we all stay connected, it is one thing that I have vowed to keep out of my marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that publicly doting on your spouse is a bad thing. I am guilty of writing the “Happy birthday to this guy right here” posts. However, because I absolutely value the privacy of our marriage, I keep it as close to me as possible.  Part of this is because my husband is not on Facebook, or any...

Author’s Note :: To ensure accuracy, I acknowledge that the written song lyrics do not state “black Jesus.” That said, many students including my own daughter were visibly confused by the dialect. The lyrics also do not change my own personal sentiments about the Duck Dynasty brand, which in my view is riddled with racist overtones and other cultural issues. My hope is that my experience and perspective opens a dialog regardless of the literal lyrics on paper. So This Is Christmas?! Today I took off of work for a couple hours and proudly set off to support my daughter (my middle child) in her school Christmas program. I sat with the other parents excitedly watching my mini me interact with...