THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Category: relationships (page 1 of 20)

Writing a Year-end Note to Your Child: 4 Simple Steps

Reading Time: 6 minutes

note to your child

The dog licked me awake early this morning. Well, early for my slumbering house of teenagers house. And I stayed awake for the quiet.

As I type to you, snow layers the landscape out my window like fondant. I love its muting effect–on schedules, on sound. My life craves more quiet, for the love of Mike. And the end of the year always seems to hush my own soul into a more contemplative place. read more

Overfunctioning at Home? Here’s One Way to Stop

Reading Time: 3 minutes

overfunctioning at home

Ever wonder if you’re doing too much for your kids?

Personality-wise, this is my reality. I am a helper, an empath to a point that it arcs others’ eyebrows. read more

My latest hack for parenting teens

Reading Time: 3 minutes

parenting teens

One of my (many, many) weirdnesses in parenting my teens has been the fact that every. Single. One of mine is opinionated and fairly strong in personality.

This is weird for me because I was totally the opposite. I was an I-excel-in-being-a-doormat-and-pleasing-the-world teenager. read more

God’s Attachment Love. Your Kid’s Darkest Moment. Your Open Window

Reading Time: 4 minutes

attachment love

I was chatting on the phone with my oldest this week about purity culture–which deserves a post on its own. (I have feelings. Big feelings.)

I expressed to him how tough it is as parents, when some of the less-healthy methods of purity culture are subtracted from parenting –I’m looking at you, shame-parenting–to find something as powerful to direct our kids toward good and keep them from what’s truly bad. read more

Best Posts of 2022!

Reading Time: 5 minutes

best posts of 2022

Today, my oldest is headed for continued training with the Marines; the 1987 Nissan Z he’s been flipping–the one the still needs the muffler?–sits resignedly outside. My youngest, a delight and a straight-up handful, is with extended family.  And thanks to this past year’s new puppy, I’m up early.

(This morning’s tea choice: Stash’s Licorice Spice. But since we’re talking New Year’s, my favorite of 2022 has definitely been Tazo’s Glazed Lemon Loaf.) read more

When Your Internal Narratives Sabotage Your Relationships

Reading Time: 3 minutes

internal narratives

On Tuesday, my brain–well, my heart–undermined my marriage.

Here’s what happened on the outside. read more

“I’ll find you”: What we long to hear

Reading Time: 3 minutes

i'll find you

A few nights ago, I got a call from my son from his military base. Wanna know what was great?

He called me because he had a bad day. read more

What kind of [spiritual] personal training does your child need?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

personal training

A couple of my kids have recently joined the other two in pursuing some personal fitness goals.

So y’know, that’s cool. read more

2 (Non-Gift) Gifts to Give Your Kids this Month

Reading Time: 4 minutes

gifts to give your kids

In a couple of weeks, my youngest turns 13. Which means I will soon be parenting four teenagers. Which means my prayer life is thriving.

As some parents of tweens chatted with my husband and me last week, I recalled some of the best advice given to us for parenting teens: Keep them talking. Keep the relational bridge open.

It’s great advice for all of parenting, right? But at times with each of my kids, that’s required supreme effort. 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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