I am a Mom Guilt procrastinator of the highest order. I always have the best intentions to get things done and keep up with my To-Do list, but it never happens.

Many of us experience “winter blues,” which is a temporary, “Tell me again, why do we live in this climate?” kind of thing. Beyond that, though, is seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, which is absolutely no joke.

We live in a world where people often hide behind computers and their smartphones, and often spreading love isn’t at the forefront of our daily interactions. This Thanksgiving season, take some time to pass on your gratitude to others. Everybody could use a kind word, and smiles are contagious.

Over the past year, I have been grieving the loss of a broken friendship. I have been through this before, as I am sure many of you have also, but my kids, especially my daughter, were watching me in the aftermath.

During the Christmas season, I decided to shower my husband with “25 Days of I Love You” to make him feel extra special.

When you expose children to the concepts of diversity and self-identity at an early age, you equip them to recognize themselves and others. This awareness empowers them to cultivate critical thinking skills and the agency to advocate for positive change.

Life is hard. Parenting is hard. Kindness matters. There have been so many moments since becoming a mom where other people’s words and actions really impacted me.

Mommy Brain is a real thing.  The absentmindedness started while I was pregnant. I would forget to buy milk at the grocery store.

In reality, we are just seeing the highlights.  We imagine what life must be like for people who appear to have it “all together,” and we fill in the blanks with unrealistic, heightened versions of reality.

Restraint collapse is the idea that they spend so much of the day holding it together that when they get home, they kind of “collapse” into temporary deregulation.