This article appears in the latest spring issue of Connections. The day had come. It was finally time. I had managed to get myself and my toddler up, showered, dressed and fed. Our bag was packed, stuff gathered by the …
Celebrate the Ordinary
I don’t like glitter and I’m not a fan of confetti. I’m not good at celebrating. I’m a doer, a survivor, a caretaker. I can help create a fantastic celebration for someone else, but won’t take that same energy and …
Don’t Let the Bully Define You
It started when she was in fifth grade. Suddenly my daughter who had just come out of her shell and transformed from a shy introvert into an outgoing and active child, was being left out and picked on by her …
DIY: Rustic Triangle Wreath
Let your imagination take you to a place where you find beauty and strength in the small things. Materials Branches (12 inches long or so, depending on the size you want your wreath to be) Greenery (various …
Amanda: A MOPS Story
MOPS has saved my sanity over nine years (and four states)! I love my MOPS group and the women who are in it. It’s been such a blessing! So, I started thinking about ways to form deeper friendships with some …
When Hospitality Becomes Reality
When we were searching for a house three years ago, one of the pieces of my wish list included a dedicated guest room. In our tiny starter home, our guest room-office-library-catchall room was fine but didn’t exude Martha Stewartesque hospitality. …
A MOPS Membership Story
This Thanksgiving, we’re so grateful for all of the moms invited into community by moms like you! Check out Jessica’s Membership story and consider inviting the next mom you bump into to your next MOPS meeting. I was a fresh …
10 Ways to Love a Mom Well
As moms, some of our most isolating and lonely moments have been in the middle of the night nursing the baby, in the grocery story with the toddler melting down into full-blown tantrum mode, or even in our own homes …
Mother Tongue
Ever since I became a mom, I developed what I refer to as a mother tongue. I call every kid that enters my house, “Love,” I utter compilations of words that I never would have imagined go together like, “Don’t …
Love Speaks the Loudest
I’m not sure when motherhood began to resemble a game show entitled “Judgment and Comparison.” “I’ll take, ‘Why is your 3-year-old not potty-trained?’ for $100, Alex.” Somewhere along the way, I feel like moms have developed the tendency to forget that …