I’m proud to admit I’m a Swiftie. Taylor’s first album was released when I was a senior in high school, and her songs have been like a soundtrack for my coming-of-age and now adult years. Many of her songs have inspired my own writing, and I’m in awe of her creative mind. So when she…
I met a 23-year-old college graduate this week who is anxious about how to get started in her career. My 19-year-old sister-in-law feels similar anxiety in what field to go into, what job to go for now. I want to be able to help these girls, but at 32, I feel the same anxiety about…
When I first went back to work, my wise friend Ari gave me some advice: Once a month, take a vacation day for yourself. Take Leo to daycare, and give yourself a day off. Thankfully, I’ve had the luxury of vacation days to take, and for three months in a row, I planned to do just…
Five years ago, Kyle and I stood in the kitchen of our beloved Des Moines house chatting after dinner, still coming off the high of our incredible wedding weekend, and doing what we like to call “schemin’ and dreamin’.” His brother Nick had told us on our wedding night that he and his wife were…
Eat, sleep, play goes the life of the baby. No matter the day or week, baby life goes in this blissful cycle. Their goals come naturally – keep practicing tummy time until I can lift my head, keep practicing my twisting until I can roll over, keep practicing my balance until I can sit up unassisted….
I had my third meeting with Karma Blackburn this week, the therapist that Kyle says has to be a stripper’s name. The truth is, she’s a sweet 60-some-year-old woman who gets me way more than the sassy, 40-some-year-old therapist I was referred to through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) the last go around. Karma verified for…
Sweet Leo is already 6 months old! I remember when he was a little sweet potato bundled in my arms for long naps while I juggled a cup of coffee and a book on my kindle during maternity leave, thinking my boy will one day be 6 months?! That sounds so old! He’ll be so…
What a year, am I right? For all of us. It’s not an exaggeration to say everyone on the planet has had quite the year, a life-altering one for most. For me, it has been quite the year to be pregnant. When quarantine started, I kept thinking how fortunate I was that these unique…
If you and I hung around last year at this time, you might remember how excited I was to turn 30. Not because I had checked off all the proverbial boxes before the milestone age (I hadn’t), but because I assumed that people who are 30 or older have life all figured out. Mostly, I…
