Real Talk

True Life Mom Confession :: “I’m A Member Of The Beyhive” It all started back in 1998 when I first saw the music video for Destiny Child’s “No, No, No (Part 2).” The catchy hip hop beat, the lyrics and the four young sirens singing them had teenage me hooked from that point on. While the group line up changed over the years going from four girls to “DC-3,” the standout star was always Beyoncé. She was beautiful but also down to earth with a cute country accent that was relatable to Southern girls like me. Before I knew it, I was a member of the Beyhive! Not in the obsessive Swarm kind of way, but I've followed her career from her...

The Journey Of Parenting The Exceptional Part 2 In a world where we constantly put ourselves in boxes and everyone has a label attached to them, parenting the exceptional is a journey filled with obstacles. And what does that look like? For most parents it starts with an 8-month to 1 year wait, just to see the appropriate doctor to get a diagnosis. That wait time is stressful, because you always have that inkling in the back of your mind, that maybe it’s not that. However, reality hits everyone differently and we must first come to grips with our children’s diagnosis (read about mine here in Part 1) and then the work begins. Early intervention is the best intervention. That’s the saying...

The Importance Of Your Girl Friends Once You Become A Mother When I was younger, my mother used to read those “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books or grocery shop late at night for her “me time.” She had her girl friends, but she never did prioritize her friendships. Her priority was my father and me, which should be on the most important list. My mom was a stay-at-home mom mostly my whole life so my mother raised me different than how I am raising my boys. The cost of living was cheaper, food was less expensive and some homes only had one working parent. In our home, my boys have both parents working multiple jobs. According to the labor force...

Mother’s Little Helper Is On Backorder I was officially diagnosed with “adult ADHD” in 2021 at the tender age of 45. It didn’t come on the heels of the TikTok frenzy of self-diagnosis, but instead was met with my suspicion the moment my doctor said, “Oh yeah, you definitely have ADHD.” No, no - I laughed at her. That’s just a silly “catch-all.” But this was before I knew what ADHD looked like in girls and adult women. I wasn’t even into my second page of Google search results on women with ADHD before I was staring, slack-jawed at the screen and wondering how this could have been missed. I just thought I was ... really, really good at some things and...

World's Okayest Dance Mom Tis’ the season of tutus and tap shoes! A new season of dance has begun. My daughter started her fourth year of dance this year and I’m not afraid to admit that I still don’t know what a plié is. You see, I love that she loves dance. I love that I’m able to provide her with an opportunity to be involved in dance. I know NOTHING about dance. Every week she puts on her tights and leotard and gets dropped off for an hour. What goes on in that class is a mystery to me. Only on our twice a year parent watch nights, and at the rehearsal and recital do I actually see all the...