Many of us are hearing this rather newly coined phrase “mental load” that surfaced very poignantly in a feminist comic in May of 2017 (see https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/ you-shouldve-asked/) entitled You Should Have Asked. It details a scenario wherein the mom is trying to feed toddlers, prep the house and meal for two guests, and all while the husband is somewhere in the background. He only appears when a mess has happened and as he sees his wife overwhelmed, he ex

As I counsel couples with young children, the most common denominator is a feeling of disconnect in marital closeness. Of course having children brings a sweet bond that can’t compare to anything else. At the same time, never has the relationship been as tested as it is alongside sleep deprivation, the potential of special needs, postpartum emotional adjustments, changes in libido and intimacy rhythms, financial new normals, and the thousand other changes that happen as you g

Credit line: Excerpted from Breathe, Mama, Breathe: 5-Minute Mindfulness for Busy Moms © Shonda Moralis, 2017. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold. theexperimentpublishing.com Letting good enough be good enough. Letting go of perfection. This one is so hard for most of us, and, well, why wouldn’t it be? Raising our children is often the most important endeavor we will ever undertake, so of course we take it seriously. I

Identity can be a crisis when our lives are put through the blender of becoming parents. The season of pregnancy often brings feelings of anticipation, excitement, nervousness, and a nesting in preparation for a new baby. For some mommas, birth means a temporary pause in vocation. For others, it can bring an ending of a particular vocation or an uncertainty. Whatever the case, a new and entirely different vocation is beginning; that of becoming a parent. Whenever there is a n

“I'm SO frustrated!” That is what I screamed at the top of my lungs as I stood in my kitchen in yoga pants. No one else was home. The culprit: a dirty dish pile. My husband had agreed to do them the night before {Huzzah!!}, but fell asleep on the couch moments later. His work was in a stressful season and he had very little margin. It's so understandable to skip dishes isn't it? Well, not from where I stood the next morning. I'm ashamed to say that what followed the initial a

Valentine’s is traditionally the day you show love to your significant other. And that’s awesome! I am writing to challenge you to think of one more person on Valentine’s: YOU. A warning: reading this may make you feel uncomfortable. We’re so used to showing others love on Valentine’s (that’s what it’s for right?!), why would we consider showing it to ourselves? There’s stigma around self-love or its requisite, self-compassion. Many people generally associate it with self-cen