10 things I want to tell every teenage goddess
Leonie Dawson is an author and blogger who is well known for her “Goddess”-themed life coaching. She recently wrote a short post about mentoring eight and nine-year-olds, and came up with this list of things she’d like to tell teens.
Reflections on becoming my mother
Becoming a mother changes your relationship with your mother. In different ways for everyone, I’m sure, — but for me it’s been enlightening in ways that are sometimes almost painful to consider.
You’ll seeeeee: parental fear-mongering predictions that didn’t come true
It seems as though we tell each other a lot of scary stories about parenthood. I mean, of course people want to share their experiences with each other. But all too often this storytelling slips into fear mongering. It’s sort of a pre-emptive commiseration — an anticipatory sing-song of Oh, you’ll seeeee….
Yes, I’m pregnant: this doesn’t mean I’m public property
Don’t you just love the way everyone feels like they can comment on your identity as a mother and woman once you become pregnant? Oh yeah. Me neither.
I walked out of my house and left my husband and kids
Five months ago, I took one of our twelve suitcases out of storage, dusted it off, opened it up, and crammed in all my clothes, three photo albums, my mom’s journals, a bag — (ok, fine, three bags) — of assorted hair and makeup products that I had collected before leaving Los Angeles, the soft zebra dress my daughter wore as a baby, and the tiny cotton onesie with the sheep parading up and down the middle that my son wore for the first month after he was born… and I left the kibbutz.
An adoptee explores her relationship to motherhood
I was six years old, and that was my reality. One day we were a family of three, and the next, four, and later, five. Pregnancy skipped a generation in my family. While I vaguely understood how other people’s babies might be welcomed into the world, I believed my existence began at day three when I entered my family. Offices were where I came from and were where you went to get siblings. In fact, it wouldn’t be years until I witnessed pregnancy firsthand by watching my co-worker’s belly grow daily.
Why are moms so hesitant to view their male partners as full, competent parents?
The first time it happened, I was at a Mothers of Multiples Club welcome brunch. My fantasy was that my terror of the impending birth of my twins would dissipate as soon as I met the wise kindred spirits who would be guiding me through the transition to multiple-motherhood. Much to my surprise, however, brunch soon descended into a partner-bashing session, replete with the kind of ominous warnings I would receive over and over during my pregnancy.
Holy moly, I’m pregnant with twins
“…and here we have another baby,” said the ultra-sound technician in a way-too-calm voice.
“No.” I said.
“Yep — twins,” she said, and continued, measuring length and heart beats, while pure panic enveloped my brain and I searched the room for some sign that I was dreaming. You know like if the ultra-sound tech suddenly handed me a math test that I hadn’t studied for. That would’ve been awesome.