This past weekend was the high school winter formal for my high school daughters. Some things haven’t changed since I was a teenager. It’s still all the talk about what kind of dress you will wear? Who is going with who? And how will you style your hair?
I don’t often spill the “tea” on the crisis of our lives. I mean, not until I feel healed up and the wound is covered beyond just a scab. I prefer to share from scars not wounds. This particular account is no metaphor. We had to call 911 for help with our oldest daughter Addison.
I know it’s a New Year and I should probably be talking about all things resolutions, goals and creating your best life. And sometimes I do. But today deserves to be set apart from the regular dialogue that typically happens in the first week of every year. Today is my daughter’s sixteenth birthday.
It’s the week of in between. The joys of Christmas have ended but it’s not yet the hope of New Year. It’s the in between week that leaves us wondering if we even know who we are? As we close out one year and wait to begin anew we might find ourselves sitting in between PROMISES made and PROMISES kept.
If you are new around here you have stumbled upon one of my favorite posts of the year. I love sharing some of my choice trends and finds that make incredible gifts. Most of them will suit just about anyone on your list. And there is always a couple to load in the cart for yourself. A few of these brands were designed by my friends, owned and operated by some incredible women I know, love and admire.
Can we talk straight for just a minute? Mom guilt. It’s real, and it doesn’t fight fair. It will mess you up inside out if you believe it’s lie. So let’s talk how to beat the bully of mom guilt.
“Do you believe the search for identity is an important job for your teenager?”
This was a question posed to me recently in a small group setting among other parents of teens. The knee jerk response to this question varied among the crowd. And there were a lot of “yes, but” and “that depends” in each statement that followed. It seems like a basic question with an obvious answer, until you have to put it into practice. As kids mature into the teen years the job of a parent goes from guard to guide.
It’s Down Syndrome Awareness month. A time of year that has landed on me differently each of the seventeen years it’s mattered in my life. Currently my social media feed is flooded with posts of perspective, gratitude, education and the most adorable kids with Down Syndrome and their families. As it should be.
Parenting teens feels like there is a daily life altering decision being made. It’s not like deciding smashed peas or sweet potatoes for lunch. These decisions seem like they have the potential to shift the entire trajectory of their future.
When the world was closed in the global pandemic of COVID 19, as a mom, my heart felt fear. In the beginning it was fear for their safety. The biggest goal was not to get sick. As we learned more and the panic stopped, I feared isolation would get the best of them.
