Friendship

These days, the first thing anyone asks me is, “Are you ready for the move?” We’re PCSing in six weeks. I should be deep in preparations--cleaning, decluttering, saying goodbye. But the truth is, I’m hardly thinking about it. That isn’t to...

Parents know that rules are necessary. Rules keep order in the chaos of raising children; they provide structure and expectations; they are the yardstick to measure anything from behavior to development. Rules are a guideline to life. In Little Fires...

No, please, I don’t want to get together anymore. When my baby was between six months and a year old, I enjoyed play dates out of the house where she mostly stared at other kids and swatted at a few...

Growing up, I always idolized my dad, and if I was going to fight with either parent, it was my mom. I know it was unfair of me, but there is a little truth to the age-old stereotype that...

The day my husband graduated Officer Candidate School, I remember thinking to myself that I was going through Sorority Rush (a process in which university undergraduate women join a sorority) all over again. Before the graduation ceremony, they put all...

The perfect mother: a title bestowed upon the best moms and coveted by many. This woman can balance everything. Her children are carefully dressed and well-behaved. She can manage a career and be present at home and for all...

Shortly after my twin boys turned one, I was diagnosed with a life-changing chronic illness called pulmonary hypertension. As a then-28-year-old, first-time mom and military wife, living across the country from our family and friends, I had no idea what...

I’m fine. Everything is fine. We are fine. How often do we repeat these sentences? More importantly, how often are they accurate and honest? In our February book club pick, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, we meet a woman who...

When a friend’s birthday is coming up, I usually know what I want to buy her months in advance. When Christmas rolls around and you need gift ideas, I’m your woman. Surprisingly, my love language is not that of...

I took a break from Facebook, and I am slowly getting the pieces of my life back. You've probably heard the phrase, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Well, this hand has not been feeding me. It has been...

Hello new military spouse, and welcome!  We are at opposite ends of this military-spouse journey, you and I. You are just beginning as a new military spouse; maybe you just got your first ID card or you are headed...

December 1st is National Women Support Women Day, one of the many thousands of celebrations we've attached to a calendar day that most of us never knew existed. And while I'm all for a day to celebrate pancakes, pirates,...