To my little ones, You will look back at this time in your life forever. And I hope you remember these smiles above it all. As much as we tried to protect you from everything around us, we were also honest. You understood there was a virus that spread across the world. People became very [...]
While our communities are quarantined, we hear stories of kids missing milestones. Graduation. Prom. Senior year of baseball as the Captain. Or for littles, maybe their first season of kids' pitch. I think sometimes we feel our kids need these milestones to feel 'accomplished'. Like they have to experience these peaks and rites of passage or they [...]
I read a quote the other day that said, “Success doesn’t make you invincible. Success makes you lazy and complacent”. Yikes. But it struck a chord with me. I had been thinking about this theme of success a lot lately. And really asking myself what success means to me. And most important, how we teach [...]
‘Tis the season of pink eye, strep throat, and the flu. Amazon packages piling up at the doorstep. Falling off the diet bandwagon, and lots of quality time with the kiddos at home. And we can’t forget the joy of hiding that damn elf on a shelf. Have you been taking care of yourself this [...]
Can we get real for a moment, friends? I mean, real. Shed the layers. The perception of who we should be. You know what I am talking about. The perfect themed birthday parties. The effortless Facebook family pictures. The Pottery Barn homes filled with the sweet smell of cinnamon and pumpkin. And the wonderfully prepared [...]
Over the last few months, we’ve witnessed absolute devastation across the country, often at the hands of those with mental illness. And I’ve found myself imagining a world where there is no stigma to mental illness. How things might have been different for these tragedies. But more importantly, how things could be different moving forward. [...]
Disability. Disorder. What is your physiological response when you hear these words? Do you shudder at the possibility of this affecting you? Your children? Do you unconsciously align these words with a stigma that should be masked? Minimized. Perhaps, undisclosed. Maybe because it’s better that way. And more comfortable. I ask because this is how [...]
For those of us who grew up watching “Friends”, you know Monica. And Monica drove most people nuts. Not me. I loved her. And recently, I have begun to understand why. She loves a good clean house and she’s a little extreme (she once described her dry cleaner as her Disneyland). You see, I relate [...]
I recently watched part of a TED Talk with Dave Isay, who believes, “Everyone around you has a story the world needs to hear”. He founded StoryCorps, an organization that invites friends, loved ones, and strangers to tell their stories, with the hope to offer moving and surprising glimpses into the hearts of often marginalized [...]
A few weeks ago, I was traveling for work and after checking my phone upon landing in New Jersey; I had a voice mail from my son’s school principal asking me to call her. I frantically called my husband to learn that he had already spoken to her and no one was hurt. While this [...]
midwesternmamaí 