THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Tag: Body of Christ

Get the Dog: The Importance of Your Little Piece of God’s Heart

Reading Time: 4 minutes

get the dog: unique

Yesterday, my friend got a dog.

Now, for most of you, you’re thinking, this is not an auspicious start for an insightful blog post. But then I would tell you that she literally has teared up when reading airline rules about transporting a pet. I’d mention that when she was grieving a major transition in her life a year and a half ago, she brightened at thinking she could finally get a dog. She’s researched shelters extensively, and talked to me about the benefits of getting a dog from a no-kill shelter, and about how pitbulls are discriminated against.

When Helping Hurts [You], Part III: When Aisha Died

Reading Time: 4 minutes

helping hurts

The phone connection sounded a bit like Oliver, one of my closest Ugandan friends, was crushing newspapers on the other end; I held the phone an inch from my ear. But I didn’t miss what made my hand fly to my chest: “Aisha…she passed. It was just too late. Things were already too bad.”

Aisha. Perhaps you remember her from this photo, snapped from my phone two and a half months ago, outside a mud hut in the slums of Namuwongo. She’s the young mother of four kids. A twenty-something.

Guest post: 5 Beefy Ideas for Moms of Boys

Reading Time: < 1 minute

My dad used to joke about being a “minority in a sorority”. It was fairly legit: We were four girls, plus my mom—and even the dog was a girl.

Imagine my (joyful) alarm when the sonogram of my first child revealed that I was about to plunge into the world of testosterone, sweat, dirt, and Nerf weapons (the latter of which I have now lost count). In fact three of my four kiddos are boys.

boys read more

Under pressure: Militant mommy convictions vs. authentic friendship

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Okay, moms: Who’s the best mom you know? And what makes her, y’know, stellar?

I wonder what the highest standard for motherhood is in your group of friends. Is it clear where you should be sending your kids to school, or what educational concepts they should have mastered? Whether you should vaccinate? Whether you use essential oils or antibiotics? Which programs your kids are enrolled in, how your daughter’s room is decorated, or what cute ideas you found on Pinterest for her birthday party?

I’ve only been back in the States for a month, so maybe I’m picking up on the wrong vibes. But—I am picking up on some significant pressure that we both give and receive from each other as mommas. Maybe you’re insecure like I was as a young mom, and sometimes still am. So much is imploding in front of you, despite your utter exhaustion. I admit to a wee bit of wicked consolation when another friend has a pile of dirty dishes that’s kind of erupted all over the rest of the kitchen, or when her kid also has a head-turning meltdown in the housewares aisle.

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