Real Talk

Remember when you were a kid and had to do some crafty, themed homework assignment? I vividly remember having to create a sock puppet for my kindergarten graduation ceremony and even a family crest in the fifth grade (both of which turned out terribly because evidently my hatred for crafting goes waaaay back). You know what I don't remember? My mom overseeing each step of the process, helping me make creative decisions, or even completely taking over the assignment for fear that my five-year-old, amateur craftsmanship might reflect poorly on her parenting in some way. Y'all. When did that become a thing? I get it, I do. Elementary schools seem to have a theme-based, cutesy-crafty activity pretty much every week. But...

You probably recall a few months ago when San Francisco 49er’s football player Colin Kaepernick dominated the news. Not for his performance, but for his very visible stance against racism and police brutality by sitting/kneeling during the National Anthem. And, as recently as yesterday he has been back in the news with his decision not to vote in the presidential election.  Kaepernick is seemingly everywhere from social media to the cover of Time magazine and when I see him, I see my son. When I say that, it’s not meant to be symbolic or profound. I mean that they literally look like each other. I was first introduced to this guy in 2013. I was watching what I thought was a Beyoncé...

Let's get real for a second about Handicapped parking spaces. People in wheelchairs (or their caregivers) need several minutes at a time to unload from a vehicle. People with invisible (to you) illnesses may be able to walk without a cane, walker or motorized scooter, but they will pay later for expending all their energy to keep some kind of normalcy in their life. When someone you know, let's call them "a friend," parks in these spaces or blocks them, your friend is preventing someone who needs the space from gaining access. There have been times I have had my son in the car and we needed to park somewhere, and we have had to wait/circle 30 minutes or more until a...

I have never been married. I have parented solo for over two years now, and a silver lining is that I know no differently. I have no clue what it’s like to have someone at the house even some of the time to assist with kid, chores, life, clogged sinks. And last week as I looked longingly at anniversary trip photos and received another invite to a daytime thing I can’t attend because of work, I had a deep desire to be married … but for all of the wrong reasons. Here they are, in no particular order: I want to be able to run errands after my son is asleep. He goes to bed at 7pm. Which.Is.Awesome. But that...

Our pastor introduced a concept to me long before I was even thinking about having kids. But to this day I constantly have it running in the back of my mind. Living a life with margin. It's a problem we encounter in today's world of over-scheduling, multi-tasking, and not being able to say "no." We have no margin. There is no wiggle room, spontaneity, or just good old downtime. And as a parent, it can be an even bigger problem as our kids enter the school system, play sports, or have play dates. But it is something that I constantly fight for. Part of me enjoys being busy. Sometimes it makes me feel like I am providing a fun life for...