Adventures In Motherhood

When people ask me "What do you do?" I laugh and reply, "Whatever it takes!" From non-profit fundraising and career work, to volunteer service and parenting one day at a time, I simply do whatever it takes! This is especially true with regards to my writing, whether personal stories or letters to persuade legislators, I'm certainly not in it for fame or fortune. Writing is personally cathartic and while it's my hope to lift the spirit of others, my true passion resounds with my children and memorializing our experiences. I cannot help but reflect on this passion today, April 20th, an important anniversary of the tragic Columbine shootings and other 4/20 'cultural' events, it also happens to be the date of my late father's birthday. My father would've been 71 today, had he lived longer than 47 years (a surreal number I'm fast approaching). It's hard for me to fathom experiencing only 20 years with my children, the short length of

Parenting is a mixed bag of emotions requiring a thick skin. My husband and I must stay strong, rather than succumb to the pressure presented by our seemingly 'less fortunate children'. I am reminded of our children's inequities in relation to their peers on a daily basis. It seems we cannot keep up with the Joneses! "Everyone in 5th grade has a iPhone mom, but me!" exclaims my 11-year-old son. His 13-year-old brother with a flip-phone decidedly nods in agreement, chiming in "and you are the only parents who don't let us game all the time like my friends do!" "How come I'm the only one who has to buy her own cellphone?" shouts my 15-year-old daughter in frustration. "Why can't I have a laser tag ninja warrior party this year?" my 7-year-old inquires, keeping up with his siblings' attempts to wear us into submission. "Why do we have to do dishes and garbage?" they complain daily as we attempt to ease o

This past Easter Sunday I was reminded of a less than stellar parenting moment from 2008 when we visited my brother's family in Chicago. With three small children under the age of four, we embarked on another unforgettable Forced Family Fun (#FFF) vacations. I'm quite confident that following our Easter escapades, my brother and his wife had second thoughts about expanding their family of three! Living in Colorado at the time, it was an adventure to fly to Chicago, where we resided during the 'honeymoon' phase of our marriage, post-college and pre-kids. Enjoying museums through the eyes of children was a surreal experience as we had finally arrived mature, responsible adults, rather than audacious adolescents of a decade prior. Feeling nervous as we entered my brother's pristine Chicago bungalow, with cream colored oversized chairs and neutral area rug, I somehow knew it was only a matter of hours before my children would leave a ruinous thoroughfare of destruct