schristopher
How Napkins Saved Our Dinner Conversations
Dinner (supper for farm people & southerners) is a time to engage with your family and discuss intellectually stimulating topics such as politics or the economy while consuming mostly organic plants grown from your...
I Chose Motherhood Over Friendship
Holly (not her real name) and I had been friends for four years. We were Army officers together and had supported each other while deployed in Iraq. We both got out of the Army,...
Leak When You Laugh? Maybe You Need Therapy
I walked out of my doctor’s office feeling defeated: This is just my life now. I went to Costco and bought another jumbo size box of pads because my leaky bladder affected me morning,...
An Open Letter to the Inventor of Baby Alive
I get it. It's my own fault for buying the darn thing to begin with. But if you saw the gleam in her eyes and heard her voice soften as my six year old...
Finding My Lost Self… At the Gym
I've always worked out, but becoming a mother put a full stop on my workout routine.
Sometimes I think back to the time before children. I remember my husband and I on an evening jog...
I’m Not Racist. But…
I don't consider myself a racist person. I dated a Black guy in my 20s. I have a few Black friends. At a few points in my life, I've been the gender minority and...
A Mother and a Veteran
Veteran's Day never meant much to me before I became one; now, it's a special day for me to connect with other veterans. Every story is unique. So, in honor of Veteran’s Day, I...
Gun Safety and Your Child
There are so many things we, as parents, can disagree on. Clothe diapers vs. disposable. Organic vs. Genetically modified foods. Screen time! Can I get an "AMEN"?
Its hard to find another family who agrees...
Heroes Out of Uniform
Have you ever had someone buy you a meal? Someone anonymous that you didn't know...just doing a good deed for the sake of humanity? I have. I can tell you that its a wonderful...
The Year of Cancer
We call it The Year of Cancer. It was 2014, and I was staying home with my daughter, who was three years old at the time. I don't mean to sound flippant, I deal...