“Dear Girl, I wish I could tell you all of the answers. Every question mark you have in your heart, every silent vulnerability that you harbor and every fear quieted. But this is what I would tell you if you would only ask.”
‘You will know heartache, the kind that takes your breath away. You’ll fail by spectacular measures. And your tribe? You’ll find it, and they will be far from what you expected.’: Mom shares words of wisdom for daughters
Dear Daughters—Don’t Let The High School Lunchroom Label Follow You
“Because nice girl, mean girl, sleep-around girl? You just don’t have time for it. You are going to shake the world, and bring it to its knees.”
‘I was typing on a friend’s Facebook, ‘You’re so P-R-E-T…’ when I realized I was part of the problem. When did ‘pretty’ become the best compliment I could give?’: Woman urges ‘remind your friend she’s bold, brave, and inspiring’
“At one point, we were little girls dreaming of the day when we would be smart, successful, bold, brave, and strong. We would become doctors and lawyers and presidents. Then, the world told us what really matters most for girls: how we look.”
‘I hope that’s not his stroller! Is it?!’ Of course it is! There’s no reason my son can’t play with a baby doll.’: Mom ‘proud’ of son for caring for his baby dolls like a real-life daddy
“I was caught off guard. ‘Why don’t you give him a sibling or a dog to play with instead of a doll?’ There’s no reason my son can’t play with babies or dolls or anything deemed ‘too girly.’ Why? Because one day, my son may choose to become a father. You’re not going to tell your adult son he’s too ‘manly’ to change his newborn child’s diaper, are you?! Doubt it.”
‘We get a hotel, and we lay down a lot. After putting on comfy clothes and taking bras off of course.’: Mom urges other women to ‘take the girls’ trip to enjoy the ‘simple things’ like ‘naps in the middle of the day
“Take the girls trip. Vacationing with other moms is the best. We fall asleep at 8:30 p.m. and wake up at 7 a.m. because our kids messed us up that way. We don’t judge if someone had to FaceTime their kids loudly and we laugh hilariously when those kids get in a fight we get to hang. Up. The. Phone. And let our husbands deal with it.”
‘You got a baby BROTHER!’ He jumped up. ‘YES! I knew it was a brother! Now I get to share a room!’: After 4 sisters, adopted son finally gets a brother ‘handpicked’ for him by his ‘dad in heaven’
“We adopted my brother. My father was dying of cancer and Easton had just lost his mom. All he ever wanted was a brother. We let Easton hold him first. He began to sing, ‘You are my sunshine’ to him. Nobody prompted him to do it. It’s like he knew this whole time, his little brother would light up his life.”
‘I was never going to ask. I didn’t want to put that on you.’ Our guardian angels whispered loud enough to give us confidence.’: Mom of 4 under 3 adopts 2-year-old brother from dying father
“What would happen to Easton? Who would raise him? Where would he go? How do you figure this out in just a few days’ time? Something told me to step up. ‘You’re supposed to be his mom. Tell your dad. Tell him now.’ I tried for an entire day to quiet this voice, but it kept pushing. It felt like the most insane thing to tell my dying father.”
‘One of the moms told me, ‘She is not athletic; she is a girly girl.’ I couldn’t sleep that night. All I could think was, ‘Why does she have to choose?’ YOU CAN DO IT ALL.’
“My youngest daughter is trying softball for the first time. We were at practice, and I was talking with other moms. I said I hoped she learned to love the game because she was athletic. Her comment stopped me in my tracks.”
‘You may only get one of them, in your entire life. People who are loyal as hell. People who invite you. People who aren’t suddenly too cool for you when the popular girls enter the room.’
“People who don’t shrug you off when you’re going through a slump. People who don’t make you walk around on eggshells. Life is crazy. But sometimes, every once in a blue moon, we’re lucky enough.”
‘Her eyes widened and her voice changed to panic. ‘What if you have a FIFTH daughter?’ This stranger’s question left a bitter taste in my mouth.’
“I was at Costco with my little crew when a woman approached me about my growing bump. I usually try to ‘kill them with kindness.’ She noticed our four girls and our son, whom we adopted 3 years prior. She made a joke he was the only boy, then shifted her attention to what gender THIS baby would be.”
