I went to Target today, used the restroom with my 3-year old son, and lived to tell about it. I don’t know if you’ve checked social media, watched the news or read a paper in the last week, but Target has been pretty prominent in the headlines with a new policy – they now allow…

Everything I ever needed to know about self-acceptance, I could have learned from a 5-year old. My friend, Laura, has a beautiful little boy named Logan.  Last September, Logan had school pictures.  Being a diligent and attentive mother, Laura planned for this day and lovingly put together a nice outfit for him, even setting it…

“Nice” is possibly the most overused, meaningless and mundane word I can think of.  It also happens to be an adjective that people often use to describe me.  The word is plastered over the pages of my yearbook and in letters from friends.  I’m often hugged and told, “You’re so nice.”  I’ve heard the word…

Let’s face it – life isn’t very easy sometimes.  Stress takes its toll on each of us, and the results aren’t pretty.  The pressures that we face at work, home, the grocery store, the mall, school, online and in our own heads can build into a mountain of seemingly insurmountable stress if we let them. …

What is the one thing that you hope no one ever finds out about you? What is that one thing about your past, or your personality, or yourself in general that you want to hide?  What secret truth about yourself makes your heart race and your cheeks burn with shame and fear?  Is there something…

It has been exactly six months since I have had a sip of alcohol.  I started drinking in college to be cool and to be happy.  I cut alcohol out because I wasn’t cool and I wasn’t happy.  This realization has taken me 20 years and countless stumbles to figure out, but in the end…

“Look at all these eggs!  Oh my!  Have you seen Pinterest?” asked the kind, Grandmother-ly woman scanning our four dozen eggs at Target, just days before Easter. “Hmm?”  I murmured, distractedly, as I struggle to push the gargantuan double-wide cart full of my preschoolers and our Easter supplies through the tiny aisle. “Pinterest!  Have you…

How much do you love to get unsolicited advice?  Let’s say, on a scale of 1-10.  Do you welcome it, and revel in the sound of other people’s voices telling you everything you have done wrong and how easy it would be to solve your problem if you just listened to their sound advice?  I…

“How will I ever love another baby as much as I love The Professor?” This was the question that plagued me throughout my pregnancy with Huck Finn.  I had this perfect, curious, unbelievably cuddly little boy in my life already.  He was funny and sweet, adventurous and tender, and he had crawled into a little…

“Mommy, Mommy, watch this!” yells Huck Finn, propelling from the couch to the ottoman.  Putting aside for a moment the fact that jumping on the couch is ABSOLUTELY NOT ALLOWED, I’m struck by his ferocious and simple desire to just have me watch him. He wants me to watch him do nearly everything.  If he…

Am I practicing self-acceptance if I still have a desire to look nice? This question popped in my head a week or so ago, when Lancelot and I were doing some work around the house.  Lancelot was putting on an old t-shirt, and commented, “Let’s get comfortable.  It’s not like we have to get dressed…

Some things don’t have a silver lining.  Losing my sister-in-law last month was one of those things.  Losing another beloved family member this month is another one.  Having a personal health crisis this month was yet another example.  Sometimes bad things happen, and the only way to get through them is simply to get through them,…