• People I’ve Had Full Arguments With… In My Head

    The car is where I settle fights. Sometimes the shower too. Jenessa is my alter ego, and she settles my scores — just on a delay. There’s usually a gap between when someone says something offensive and when I think of what I should’ve said. Thanks to her, it can take me five to ten…

  • The Weight of Feeling Everything

    The car seat is Liam’s arch nemesis. Getting him into it can set him off. It doesn’t matter if we’ve had a wonderful day or if school went well. If he doesn’t want to sit in that seat, the entire moment unravels. I hate pinning him down. He’s strong. The screaming builds, and it turns…

  • Finding Faith in the Ordinary Moments I Used to Rush Through

    Small wins are BIG wins.” The kind of life mantra that probably needs to be tattooed on my forehead. I’ve heard it for years. Liam is four years old. He has Down syndrome and autism. Liam was born in October of 2017. He had complications with breathing that required oxygen support, and he spent the…

  • The Five Conversations I Have With Myself Before Getting Out of Bed

    It’s been a nightly ritual for me to prepare my day right before bed. I’m a planner. Over the last few years, I’ve learned that I’m easily overstimulated—mostly because of motherhood and the constant motion that comes with it. I’m four years into being a mom, but it feels like it’s been forty. Sometimes it…

  • I Made a To-Do List, Then I Immediately Took a Nap

    My toxic trait—if we’re being honest—is buying planners and bullet journals with all the pretty highlighters and pens. My intention is always the same: to be creative, organized, and motivated. I carefully design each page with categories that make me feel like I have my life together—habit trackers, color-blocked schedules, daily, weekly, and monthly to-do…

  • The Five Minutes After Everyone Falls Asleep

    I have a love-hate relationship with nighttime. I love the feeling of lying down in my bed and the quietness of a sleeping home. I hate the act of putting down a four-year-old who needs a lengthy bedtime routine before he can fall asleep. But once I finally hit my bed, the stress of the…