At first glance, the girls who make up Girl Scout Troop 6000 may seem just like your ordinary group of Scouts. They wear their vests, earn badges, and recite their pledge. They laugh, hug, and support one another.
The troop is also New York City’s first all-homeless group of girls, all living in the Sleep Inn in Queens, NY. Read More
Families have turned to Sesame Street for generations in order to start conversations and teach important life lessons. With an estimated 1 in 68 American children having autism, there is no better time than now to show the public what it’s like to interact with these special people among us. Read More
I realize now that the bulk of negativity we harbor comes from insecurity. We judge others because we are judging ourselves. When I first saw Maria Kang’s smiling face come across my computer screen, and in turn found myself inwardly shooting her down, I know I was communicating more about myself than I was about her. Read More
Sometimes I think we live our lives as though we believe that this is a world just for adults. I’m coming to hold that, hand in hand with observant and intentional parents, children are capable of being ushered lovingly, and carefully, into the world and walking some of these tough roads with us, even at such a young age. Read More
What I’m getting at is this: There is no guidebook on what it takes to be a good mother. We all have our failures and flaws along with our own unique ability to actively love our children. There are pressures from all sides to do x, y, and z in order to excel at mothering and raise perfect children… but it’s disingenuous to assume that it’s one-size-fits-all. Read More
Those years of grief won’t be forgotten, and neither will those lives. I’m certain I’ll always remember their due dates, and the order of siblings that would have been, had we been allowed to have our children. I’m okay with reflecting on the dark times and feeling twinges of that familiar heartache. It gets easier, but it never goes away. It’s fitting to grieve what will never be. Read More
What does it mean to be a true friend? What qualities do your very best friends have that attract you to them? We all likely have different answers to these questions. But for all of us, true friendship is something to be cherished. It’s something to take care of. Like all good things, it’s something we should occasionally take time to reflect on. After all, counting our blessings regularly makes … Read More
I would bet that there aren’t many of us who haven’t suffered at the hands of other women. Whether it be in the workplace, within your family unit, or in the preschool carpool line, I know that few are exempt from this behavior. I have vivid memories of bullying and intentional hurt that I still carry with me, even from nearly two decades ago. My guess is that this isn’t uncommon. Read More
The sad truth is, if you could survey the women in the room, statistically, you would find that there are very few who would be untouched by miscarriage, infertility, broken marriages and families, or death. So why is it so unheard of for these hurts to be acknowledged in the same breath as we acknowledge the amazing work of motherhood? My prayer is that we find a way to boldly acknowledge pain while still celebrating the gift of Motherhood in an intentional way. Read More
If there is one survival tip I can relay to new mothers who are struggling, it’s this: find your people. Having mom friends has made me a different mom. I have often called them my lifelines, because I truly don’t know what raising my children up until this point would have looked like without them. Read More
