These Four Walls
Panic struck immediately. I was one of the many that ran to the grocery store in search of frozen foods (not toilet paper - starvation was much scarier in my book). I ended up having a Def-Con 5 meltdown while talking to a local doctor I know in the community while we were in the frozen foods section. He specializes in plastic surgery, so I told my husband I have to buy a new nose to make up for his impromptu therapy session and comforting words.
Secret Family Recipe: Italian Garden Stew
In our house, we call it "Cucuroma". This probably stems from the name of an Italian squash "cucuzza". My great-grandfather came to the Cleveland area from Sicily and he loved to cook. We build our gardens around growing the ingredients for Cucuroma.
Happiness doesn’t come easy, but choose the right “hard”
Life is hard. It's hard in a million different ways. I just had to choose which hard was going to make me happiest.
Survival of the Fittest: ways to get your tot to play nice
I'm not an "all is fair in playtime and war" type of person. But, this once again proved my theory that preschool age is truly "survival of the fittest". But as a mother who wants to raise decent human beings that don't put other people in headlocks, this whole scenario scares me. So, what do we do about it?
Don’t deprive your child of a Christmas disaster
Once we were older and too cool to cut down a tree, the Christmas disaster typically happened during gifts. My sister opened a clothing box and pulled out a plum colored matching velour jumpsuit. I feel like J Lo made them mainstream around that time. Within seconds, she burst into tears of disappointment along with a laugh and a "why would you buy me this". My other sister was laughing so hard next to her, it made the crying worse. Then my mom got upset and - I think - walked out of the room saying "I can't do anything right".
Women, please stop insulting your own gender (and my children)
Women: we need to stop talking down about our babies. We owe ourselves this chance to teach the future generation that they are individuals. They are not defined by their gender. They are not held back by their gender. They are loved by their mothers and fathers no matter who they are or who they become. Let's start with our youngest little ladies. Let's teach them that sisterhood is their biggest strength, not something their mother "has to handle".
Leaving the best part of me on the table
So, when Brooke said "leaving so much of myself on the table," it stuck with me. It's not an epiphany that this is what we all struggle with. We know that we could be so much more. We could be more of a force at our jobs, we could be the Pinterest mom, we could start that business we always wanted, we could be the poster child of health and fitness. But there's only so much time. We can have it all. Just not everyday.
Strength is not a title, it's an attitude
My grandma never portrayed the role as submissive female. She was the boss. Sure, she was never a CEO or high powered executive or attorney. But I never thought of her as unaccomplished. And she certainly slayed gender equality before it was even a thing.It's hard to put into words, but looking back, here are the lessons she taught me