Real Talk

To The Daughter Of A Mom With Mental Illness… It’s with utmost sincerity that I write to you, daughter of a mom with mental illness. With genuine and heartfelt empathy, I pen this article in hopes of helping you know that you are not alone, and your worth is far more valuable than you were raised to believe. What you have experienced growing up as a child of a mother who had mental struggles is awful, and it is not uncommon for your sense of trust, self-worth, and reality to be distorted as you have grown. But it doesn’t have to be an indicator of your own future relationships and family. How do you know if you’re the daughter of a...

Natural Vs. Medicated :: My Perspective From Both Sides After having 4 kids it’s safe to say I have quite a bit of experience giving birth. My first two babies, I opted to be pumped full of that game changing drug, the epidural. After finding out I was pregnant with number three, I decided to challenge myself and go all natural, pain med free. I did the same with my fourth. So as a mom whose been on both ends of the spectrum here’s my take on them both. Epidural:: Best if you don’t have a high pain tolerance or just don’t want to feel much of anything at all. Not going to lie, those epidurals with my first and second knocked me...

Raising Without Religion I’m raising my kids without religion. There, I said it. We don’t attend church. We don’t read the Bible. Not that I’m against those things, it’s just not my style. It may be an unpopular opinion, especially in the South, but my children get to choose whether or not they want to follow an organized religion. I do not force it, but if they decide to go that route, I try my best to encourage it. Our children will grow into adults before our eyes and I believe they’re entitled to the right to choose their own spiritual path. I was raised as what I could only describe as a lax Catholic. My parents chose to bring me to...

It's Tough To Hear, But It's True :: Grandparents Have Earned Their Opinions I’ll start by saying that this article is written with a humble, grateful heart. When I think about all that my parents have done to foster the growth and development of my daughter, I cannot help but form tears of thankfulness and immense appreciation. It has been a journey to get to the place of sincere recognition for my parents’ efforts, and I write to hopefully help others feel the same.   Let’s start from the beginning. You see, I was almost thirty-two when I had my daughter. Well settled into my career, financially responsible, educated, with a promising future, my life was on a path towards executive leadership...

In My Bad Friend Era Growing up I didn’t have a large group of friends. I had a select few I could confide in until I reached high school. Then that circle got even smaller. I found myself becoming friends with guys more often than girls. Why? Because guys are easier, they aren’t so dependent on connection. This of course came with a whole set of its own problems though. You know the problems I’m talking about. It’s not too hard to figure out. Then I reached my twenties and shortly after having my daughter, I found my forever best friend. In fact, I won’t even call her my best friend. That woman is my soul sister. Through and through. I...