THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Category: difficulty (page 1 of 14)

Dealing With Your Parenting “If Only”s

Reading Time: 3 minutes

if only

Question. What’s the one thing you wish about your family that feels like it would make everything better? That finally, your parenting could really sing?

What’s your “if only”? read more

On Doing Hard Things for Our Kids

Reading Time: 3 minutes

doing hard things

A few weeks ago, I needed to take my son in to have a couple of teeth extracted.

Can I just say this is not my favorite mom-job? read more

Suffering: “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you”

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Four years ago, my husband and I squinted through snow flurries as we wound our way to Denver.

We were driving my 13-year-old to an MRI screening for cancer.

Lymphoma is a primary consideration, the radiologist had said, goading us toward the test that day. read more

“We Never Fight”: The Problem with Zero Conflict

Reading Time: 4 minutes

we never fight

I was glad/sad to see high click-throughs for my recent post, When Valentine’s Day is hard.

Maybe I’m reading into it. But maybe some of you are army-crawling through hard times. Or know someone who is. (Or are curious to see exactly how I would tackle that beast.) read more

A Parenthood Christmas

Reading Time: 4 minutes

parenthood christmas bearing children

So–a lot of women I know are in that window of life where one’s body starts needing repair from growing, then expelling a human.

If you’re not there? Hey, super-fun stuff. read more

“Is This Really Where I’m Supposed to Be?”

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Something beautiful happened in my family last weekend.

This is me, in San Diego, with my husband–and my oldest son, who has your back. He is one of the United States’ newest marines. read more

When God Says “No” (for now): FREE printable

Reading Time: 2 minutes

when god says no

Dear readers–I’m pulling this one from the archives today for you…mostly because it was what I needed. -J.

Do you remember the first time you wondered if God really was good? read more

“Everyone thinks I’m okay”

Reading Time: 5 minutes

everyone thinks I'm okay

I sat with a friend recently, warming my hands over a fire pit as the nights here in Colorado begin to slide into fall. What she and her family have been through is nothing short of horrific, and it felt sacred to listen to her story in relative silence.

They’re on the other side of tragedy now–the side they weren’t sure they’d ever see. But because they made it through the trauma, she explained quietly, everyone thought they were okay now. read more

Grief as a Parent: What to Expect When You Didn’t Expect It

Reading Time: 5 minutes

grief as a parent

My daughter was 14 months old when she got glasses and began to wear the felt purple eye patch I’d stitched for her. Coincidentally, it was the same month, she started walking at last and pushed through her first tooth. We’d noticed she frequently went cross-eyed.

It wasn’t until she could talk that the opthalmologist was able to understand she didn’t have a muscle problem. She had a genetic condition from my side called Dewayne’s Syndrome, from a missing cranial nerve. read more

Why Your Marriage Needs Sex (& other recent articles)

Reading Time: 2 minutes

needs sex

When my four kids were little and life resembled a 24-hour Bounty commercial, I read a statistic in Parents magazine that something like 78% of new moms, when choosing between sex and sleep, chose sleep.

Um. Duh. read more

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