• October Self-care
    Self-Care

    October Self-Care

    A Mid-Month Self-Evaluation It’s almost exactly the middle of the month, so I thought it was a good time to check in. If you recall, I made a commitment to some real, focused October self-care. At the end of September, I took a hard look at what I was doing, made the freaking list (taking walks, crocheting/knitting, baking, and listening to music), and set out to make some changes. Okay. Related post: 4 Ways I’m Taking Care of Mommy Starting off well The first week of the month started off well. I took a walk or two, and I was really proud of myself. They were short walks because it…

  • world mental health day
    The Struggle Is Mental

    World Mental Health Day

    It’s October 10. HAPPY WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY!!!! I had no idea this was a thing. October is the month for Halloween, stuck somewhere in the abyss between school starting and the Christmas blur. Now that mental health is a huge part of my family’s life, I look at October with fresh eyes. I’m feeling like sorta like “Hallo-what?” “Hallo-WHO???” We’ve wasted so many years, celebrating Halloween over and over again, because we didn’t know about World Mental Health Day (WMHD). Thank you, Instagram I would have missed another year of WMHD if it wasn’t for social media. Instagram has been a surprising resource. I’ve connected with experts in the…

  • Taking care of mommy
    Self-Care

    4 Ways I’m Taking Care of Mommy

    Everywhere you look, you see the new hot phrase: SELF-CARE. I can’t say I really bought into it; then again, I can’t say that I’m the “buy-into-trends” type of gal. I didn’t rearrange my house when Feng Shui was a thing. What is hygge, anyway? I think Marie Kondo is adorable, but I never thanked my old stuff for anything. However, I recently realized that this self-care thing is hot for a reason. Everyone’s over-scheduled and under-rested, overextended and undernourished. It’s me. I’m everyone. As the new month begins, I’m determined to take better care of myself. Mommy doesn’t have to be at the top of the priority list, but…

  • Mental Illness Teens
    The Struggle Is Mental

    She Can’t Breathe!!

    Picture it… Picture it. Sicily. 1923. Okay, so it wasn’t really Sicily. It wasn’t 1923. And my name isn’t Sophia. But it was the first time my child had to struggle for her* life. Go ahead and picture it. A hospital room. The Labor and Delivery wing. Sometime this millennium. I was in active labor. The cute little “keep-breathing-through-it” part had ended, and the screeching pain of pushing was in full effect. It took a while, but she finally entered the world. My job was done…or was it? Waiting for her to cry I’ve had multiple children, so I knew what came next. I closed my eyes to rest and…