Perspectives in Parenting

Think what you will about pageants, but I learned a lot competing for Miss Louisiana. One of the skills that continues to hold on is the power of silence. In the Miss USA and Miss America pageant systems, there is a portion of competition called On Stage Question. This is when you see the girls in evening gowns being asked a question by the emcee. I’m sure most people think of this old clip when they hear this term: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww In defense of the teenager in this video answering a question most teenagers wouldn’t have an immediate answer to, that portion of the competition was pretty freaking hard. Think about it: You’re in front of a huge crowd or on live television and...

Loss is inevitable, but it’s crushing when it happens to you. Loss hurts, it will trigger many complicated emotions. You may feel sad, infuriated, devastated, confused, frustrated, alone, regretful … all normal feelings to feel, all exhausting to feel. Especially when you throw a couple of kids into the mix. Parenting is an around-the-clock gig, as you well know. When you lose someone, there are still bottles to be made, early morning trips to school, and homework assignments to micromanage. The kids still need to eat, and the white school shoes still need to be unearthed. Kids are still busy fighting over the fairy catcher toy, unbothered by the eleventh condolences phone call of that day. Kids may or may not...

It sometimes happens very unexpectedly. You wake up, begin your normal morning routine, and then you feel it. A very slight, hardly noticeable, ever so subtle “something,” call it a feeling, in your stomach. It’s not a pain, just a small ache. It could appear after some long weeks of parenting or working or both … or long nights of waking up with an infant. Sometimes it is not even a feeling that is desired … but it is still there, present enough to, for a brief moment, take your thoughts away from the tasks of the day ahead. Then this thought or feeling, given the slightest opportunity to be entertained, makes itself more present, but still whispers to...

Growing up, I was taught that family comes first, always! It wasn’t until I had my own family that I knew what that truly meant. I never knew how to truly love a person so much until I had my own child, and yes I’m sure a lot of you parents know what I mean. You look at this human, and you realize this person you’re in charge of. You have to keep this human being alive somehow. Yeah I know that sounds kind of crazy, but it’s true. I went through so much as a child and until I moved out of my family home, I never knew what true love was until that crazy magical day happened. I...

A Single Mom in Law School’s Point of View: When I decided to go to law school, my first thought was how it would negatively affect my parenting, as I have a toddler. I would be in class three nights a week with loads more to do.  The experience has been quite the contrary. Law school is different from any other kind of degree program out there. It has, in its own way, made me an even better mom. After only one semester of law school, there is a lesson that has hit, or rather punched, me the hardest: If you enter a season where your plate will be full for an extended period of time, you must accept that you will...