I spend roughly eight hours a day with teenagers. Most days of the year. For ten years. As a high school teacher I have watched many young people grow and mature. The majority have been blessings, but some have been challenges. I have also endured the students that remained, dare I say it, immature. Over the years I have had some moments in which I saw young men, 17 and 18 years old, portray chauvinism, racism, superiority, and entitlement. Not my favorite days. But, on the other hand, I have taught some young men that I proudly have said, “I hope that one day my sons can be like him.”
Because of these experiences, I frequently consider what type of young men...
Oh, the things we say before we have kids. We stroll past kids throwing tantrums or baby-sit our neighbor’s bratty children and say to ourselves, “When I have kids, I’ll never do ” So easy to say those things before we actually have a screaming child melting down in the grocery store or one who won’t sleep more than two hours in a row or who has a weird-looking number two diaper. Here are a few things that I swore I’d never do as a mom, before I had a child:
1. Let my child sleep in our bed
I haven’t totally gone off the deep end here, meaning that my husband and I don’t spend every night with our son...
Moms, we’re all guilty. Of putting ourselves last. Every day and all day long. It happens. It kind of comes with the territory, right? When we become moms, self-sacrifice stares us in the face stating, “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere for a while. So I suggest you put any sense of yourself aside.” How easily we sink in the quicksand that is self-sacrifice. And sure, with the rush of hormones and bodily changes, not to mention the emotional rollercoaster that is motherhood, we sometimes convince ourselves that giving all of ourselves to our children and families is a decision not to be compromised.
I’m not saying that self-sacrifice is entirely a bad thing either, for most of us...
There is no denying that we live in a digital age. We are always "plugged in" connecting with friends, shopping, and watching the latest news. Just take a quick glance around any public establishment and it's obvious that technology has taken over our lives. As we raise our children in this fast-paced, all-access world of technology, it is inevitable that social media has an impact on our role as parents. Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter...social media affects every minute of every day and inflicts a constant pressure for us to put our best virtual foot forward.
As a mom, I rely on social media more often than I'd like to admit for recipes, parenting tips, and on the really tough...
Recently my little girl and I attended a birthday party for one of her buddies, a sweet boy turning 3. One of the extended family members of the boy, a lady in her 60s whom we had never before met, watched my daughter interacting in some way for a few seconds and commented on her calm and confident demeanor. I of course said "thank you" and proceeded to casually brush off the compliment with "she's calm now, but you should see her at home..." or some humorous-slash-attempt-at-modesty retort of the sort.
The party was at one of our local parks, and later on my daughter was attempting to climb down a rather complex obstacle, one that is probably a little beyond...
Around Baton Rouge
Mardi Gras From the Perspective of a Krewe Dancer
Mardi Gras From the Perspective of a Krewe Dancer
It's that time of year we have been working towards all year long. Preparing three to...
