Self-Care (n). the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress. Read that again. No, really. Read it through again. I don't know about you, but a get a visceral reaction from reading through that definition as certain words within it seem to leap off the page and prick me right in the heart. (And that was just a 3-second Google search definition, y'all). First of all, it is striking to consider 'se

Here I am, 3 and a half years into this mom gig and just about every day I'm plagued with a bad case of the "shoulds". I should be waking up earlier, should be spending more active time with the kids, should be making healthier meals, should be working harder at strict sleep schedules and screen time and... and...and.... The list of things that my head tells me I should do is never-ending. Some clever therapist before me called this syndrome "shoulding all over yourself". (Cu

All at once the world changed. Mid March, my family was finally recovered from what felt like an eternity of one sickness after another and were finally ready to go out and conquer the world. Needless to say, the following week none of that became possible. So many aspects of life changed due to COVID-19 in our family: job loss, career redirection, parenting and working from home, and sheltering in place with a baby and a toddler. While I won't get into the details of the uni