For years now, my identity has revolved around being a mother. And years before that, while my wife and I struggled with infertility, much of my identity revolved around wanting to be a mother. I’m coming to a place in my life where I need to take some space from that part of me or else risk being
The expectation versus the reality of having children is wildly different. Every stage is a challenge and nothing at all like you imagined. Above all, it’s harder than you ever expected. There are so many parts of motherhood that just plain suck, and it’s ok to hate them.
Here’s a glimpse into a few truths of mine from this single parent life. I clean when I have the time and energy but I’ve realized I’ve become someone who runs the dishwasher and doesn’t unload it promptly, let’s the dirty dishes pile up in the sink (and on the counter), eventually unloads the clean
It’s time to confess. Although I try to be self-aware and grow with experience, it is a hard task to own up to our flaws or areas that could use improvement. In thinking about my routines and choices, it’s clear to me they are all efforts to just keep up. Upon this reflection I discovered
Kate Street, a former blogger of this site, regularly wrote True Confessions posts and inspired others to do so. I never met Kate but enjoy her work and admire her in general. She sets her own standards for parenting and living life, and detailed it in her blog unapologetically. In her honor, and because I
…because when you’re a giant, cranky, overheated incubator, sometimes all you can think to write about is your shortcomings. I have this thing where I can’t outright lie – so if you ask me how I’m feeling, be prepared to hear some borderline TMI complaint. I have a bald spot. Right in the front. I
I have a secret that I keep hidden under layers of clothing and illusions of normalcy. From the age of 14 to 27, I cut myself. Regularly. Intentionally. And with anger and sadness in my heart. You read that right: I was a teenage cliché – a “cutter” – well into responsible adulthood. People often
My default is usually to be honest. Perhaps to a fault. I think people that know me would probably say they know me too well. It’s seems like too much work to tell a lie and then have to remember it myself so I’m not caught up in it. So for the most part, I am
The truth is, being a parent makes people who were at one time sane and balanced behave like weirdos. I’m sorry to my daughter when she learns to read — and at the risk that she might stumble across what her ridiculous mother wrote below, I am posting this anyway. Here are some of my
I had a very specific vision of the type of parent I wanted to be. And then I became a parent and was smacked in the face with reality. I still have the same basic core values and I won’t budge on those. But then there’s everything else. I will be the first to admit,
