Eight easy gratitude activities for families
Thanksgiving - the holiday of gratitude and thankfulness! The call to gratitude existed long before the first Thanksgiving meal between pilgrims…
Responding to teen parenting challenges with courage and grace
As a pediatric nurse practitioner, I often meet families behind closed doors at a point of crisis they never saw coming. No parent walks into my…
Dear moms, boundaries aren’t selfish
Modern mothers are eaten up with guilt over things that mothers from previous generations wouldn’t have given a second thought to. After all, as kids…
How do I make friends as an adult?
We believe friendship matters, right? But how do we make friends as adults? It’s not as easy as it was in elementary school, high school, or even in…
How to help friends parenting a child with special needs
As special-needs parents, the demands our children sometimes require of us cause us to muster up a superhero type of strength and independence. Over…
Making family memories this fall
If you are anything like me, you’ve been anxiously awaiting the day when you can put away your shorts and sundresses and live in cozy sweatshirts and…
Confession in motherhood
On a whim the other day, I asked my three-year-old daughter, “What does mommy say a lot?” I hoped her answer would be something like, “I love you,”…
The cost of controlling our relationships
My middle son, Coen, is constantly breaking his toys. Not on purpose, but by forcing them to bend in directions they were not designed to bend. He…
Three reasons your kid might be treating you disrespectfully
I receive some version of this email or message often… Dear Monica… My son is so rude to me… My daughter is disrespectful… My kids don’t listen… My…
