Perspectives in Parenting

Disclosure :: Red Stick Moms Blog seeks to honor the voices of all moms living in Louisiana. We understand and respect that this is controversial topic, but we ask that you read Katie's journey to seek understanding and - should you desire to weigh in - that you engage respectfully. I’m an unlikely medical marijuana supporter. I’m a wife to a law enforcement officer. I’m a mom to three beautiful boys. I’m a teacher. I’m a devout Catholic. I’m all the things you wouldn’t expect of person advocating for the legalization of medical marijuana here in this very conservative state of Louisiana. I am advocating for medical marijuana for my nine year old son. My son Connor is a joyful child with the biggest...

There’s this sign on our dishwasher. It says "Clean" on one side and "Dirty" on the other. It’s worn and dirty (ironically, for one side) and old. It’s been there for years and years. We’ve only had two of those signs during the entire length of our marriage (14 years this year). I don’t know why, but I like to keep the same sign and watch it age.   It’s an effort in communication. Here’s how it works: if I start to empty the sink of dirty dishes but don’t have enough to finish filling the dishwasher, I leave the sign to read “dirty.” When my husband sees there are no dishes in the sink, but has a dirty dish to...

Expectations are the downfall of my heart. I try not to have them and to just go with the flow, but sometimes, it's impossible not to have them. Whether it's expectations of what marriage will be like, or what a job will entail; how your friendships will grow, or, in our case, how our family will grow. We have a precocious (almost) three-year-old, and we are foster parents. I am constantly told that we need more good foster families (and we do!) and that there are lots of kids waiting to be adopted (there are!). I expected a house full of kids, always being asked to take more, but that just isn't the case. We have only had a child in...

To My Child with Cystic Fibrosis: Please Outlive Me There are times where it hits me out of nowhere. Brushing my teeth, driving to work, folding laundry … times where I am doing the most mundane things and my guard is down. It’s at those times that my mind reminds me “You might have to say goodbye to him sooner than you would like.” Our son has an incurable, life-threatening chronic illness. Jax has cystic fibrosis (CF). CF is an unpredictable, life-shortening genetic disease. It’s an ugly disease that causes a myriad of complications, mainly lung infections and respiratory failure. We found out about cystic fibrosis on a Friday afternoon. Jax was eight days old, and it had been a long day....

Disclosure :: This post is sponsored by The Emerge Center. That said, we appreciate this beautifully honest post written by Mandy Cowley, Emerge parent, & Brandi Monjure, Communications and Events Coordinator at The Emerge Center, as much as we do!  Take a moment to think about the typical, everyday stresses you face as a mom. Twenty birthday invitations need to be mailed tomorrow. Dinner for five needs to be on the table in an hour. Two kids need to brush their teeth, take a bath, and be in bed by eight. It all adds up, and we know you stay busy juggling it all! Now imagine adding just a few more variables into that equation…Therapy for your child is too expensive to be able...