When you are a parent, you fear the breakdown – that moment where the wheels come off the wagon. And, if you are very unlucky, this moment occurs in a public place.
When you are a parent, you fear the breakdown – that moment where the wheels come off the wagon. And, if you are very unlucky, this moment occurs in a public place.
You haven’t really lived as a mother until you have survived your first mommy-shaming birthday party. What does one look like, you may ask. Allow me to offer a few examples of what you might hear:
“Oh, yes, we only use bamboo and wool diapers.”
“Does your child attend the Jewish Montessori preschool?”
“No sugar or food dye for our son!”
…are small, even childlike, but they hold great weight: my fragile son.
At a churchwide picnic earlier this week, my heart dropped when I saw my son’s body, seemingly lifeless, fall through the air. I was making friendly parent conversation and my favorite toddler, up until that moment, was enjoying adventures on a large inflatable.
Somewhere in the endless plastic, my son cried out for me. When I finally extracted him from the bottom of the partially deflated slide, I embraced a trembling shell of my little boy.
I have a confession: I hate cooking. Really, I make a terrible Southern woman.
When I met my husband, his culinary expertise immediately hooked me. After our first food-inspired date night, I wanted to try my hand at chocolate fondue. I am quite good at following recipes, so I added a few ingredients to create the perfect luscious sauce. Only it was a disaster. And somehow it didn’t even taste like chocolate.
Last Friday, I went on my first date with another man: my son. Several weeks ago, I learned of a local mother-son dance, and I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to watch my toddler thrash to fun music.
Well, at least this is how I envisioned our night would look. Continue reading “The Dance of Innocence”
Decisions can be suffocating – much like graduation robes. In May 2006, I pondered this exact thought as I walked across a very long stage. College was over, and finally my life would fall into place.
I would attend graduate school and pursue a career in education. I would marry a good Christian man who was well on his way to becoming a doctor. We would have two children, and I would perfectly balance motherhood and my career.
Little did I know that in a few short years, I would lose it all – the teaching career, the doctor, and the guarantee of motherhood. Continue reading “Oh, the Decisions You’ll Make!”