THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Category: failure (page 1 of 8)

What the World Needs More Than Our Perfect Kids

Reading Time: 4 minutes

perfect kids

Can I tell you something embarrassing? …I’ve been working up to this.

When I was a super-young mom, I was thinking about writing a novel. (I have a different one on my hard drive that will likely never see the light of day.) 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

What You Absolutely Cannot Do as a Parent

Reading Time: 4 minutes

growth

When my kids were younger, I tried my hand at writing a children’s book.

It was the story of a boy in a small town whose grandpa had a magical house: The House of Broken and Beautiful. His grandpa was beloved, though some who didn’t know him suspected him of evil. read more

Not Enough: When Self-Doubt is Real

Reading Time: 4 minutes

not enough

It’s become legend in my family–the night I went to see Hedda Gabler at my university as a freshman.

Somewhere in Act II, I think, my friend Paul came on stage wearing a painted-on black eye.  And that’s when I promptly began to feel lightheaded. I was thinking, Janel. It’s makeup read more

When Change in Your Child is S-l-o-w

Reading Time: 5 minutes

change in your child

I’ve been feeling an unexpected, if not undesired, kinship with my man Moses lately.

Remember when Moses comes down the mountain to the all-out idol-worshipping party of 2 million people (who God just brought out of Egypt and is about to give the Ten Commandments)? Moses loses it and breaks the stone tablets in half. read more

Hope: It’s What to Chew On (FREE Printable)

Reading Time: 3 minutes

hope

So there’s this chance raising teenagers could kill me.

I’m (again) in one of these parenting seasons where hope feels like a mind game. There is indeed a battlefield in my brain, in my soul. read more

Executive Functioning: Is it behind the Behavior Issues?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

executive functioning

When my son was seven, I’d ask him to clean his room.

Unfortunately, I could come in half an hour later and the place still looked like someone had turned the place upside down and shook it, then sprayed cheese-in-a-can on top. read more

Parenthood: There Will Be Scars

Reading Time: 4 minutes

scars

Months ago, I stumbled upon what I thought was an epiphany: silicone scar strips…which promised, with 4.5 stars on Amazon, to fade stretch marks, people.

My heart lifted. My first child ballooned my belly like a watermelon, complete with stripes. When another mother asked to glimpse my stretch marks after I mentioned their severity, she gasped aloud with some equivalent of Good golly.  read more

Good News, Bad News, Chubby Donkeys: Memos on Waiting

Reading Time: 6 minutes

bad news loss

That day, in the whirlwind of working with kids at home, I received the kind of email I felt in my chest. Bad news.

I heard my respiration accelerate as my fingers curled the counter’s edge. My daughter watched my face, then looked at the screen. read more

When Your Teen Yells at You: 8 Win-win Ideas

Reading Time: 4 minutes

yells angry

So yeah. That happened.

I won’t tell you which one. It doesn’t matter. And I have this phobia my kids will need to be in therapy because their mother is a writer. read more

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