Leah Lynch 
My hope is that my children see me model this and it becomes something they copy and do themselves. My kids are 8, 5, and 2, so too young to really understand what it means that their “Pop” served in Vietnam. However, I do expect them to thank my father-in-law. Someday they will know and understand the sacrifices he made. And they can be just as proud of him as I am, and just as proud of him as I was of my grandfathers.
I’m not talking about joking around and being silly — my husband and I act that way with our kids all the time. The type of teasing I am talking about is humiliating or shaming kids. I am talking about words and actions that are unkind and meant to embarrass. For example, think about when an adult gives a negative remark about a child’s appearance. I recently witnessed a father say, in front of his child, ‘He needs to lay off the ice cream or he’s going to be fat like me,’ and then chuckle about it.
Like, he really LOVES it! He loves the recital and performing on the big stage. He enjoys the choreography and often reminds his dance teacher if she does the wrong step. He is constantly dancing at home. And if his teachers put music on at school for indoor recess, he will dance there too. It gives him joy and pride. He knows and loves his ‘dance girls.’ We are truly grateful for dance and this studio. They even allowed my son and my daughter to perform a short duet last year to a song my son composed on his iPad. I mean, how cool is that!
I sneak upstairs and wash my face. I put in one contact lens. Then I hear screaming from the preschooler — ‘Stop sitting on me! Stop bothering me!’ I go down the stairs — half blind — hop the baby gate, and pull the toddler off his sister. I bring the toddler upstairs while I finish getting ready. Desperate to just get out of the house, I allow him to bring his potato chip breakfast upstairs, too.
It’s that time of year — when we create our summer bucket lists and make plans for day trips to explore all Greater Boston has to offer. Want a new spot to add to your list? Try World War I Memorial Park and Zoo in North Attleboro!
After three years of infertility treatments that included IVF and surgery to help them conceive, the final answer was unbearable. No. No, they would not have a child together.
“Over the years I have had mixed feelings about ‘autism awareness.’ It has never sat quite right with me, and being a completely burned out mom with three kids, I’ve never had the energy or time to really think about what I want to say. But the past year has hit us hard at home and at school. Now that my son is getting older, his behavior and quirkiness are more obvious to others, including his peers and his younger sister. It is making me realize awareness is not enough. What I need, as a parent, is autism acceptance and autism appreciation.”
Whether kids have special needs or not, they occasionally need a clearer picture of what is expected in certain situations. A social story is a visual way to show them just that!
And then there’s the ‘mom guilt’ I am so tired of. I feel guilty I don’t play with my kids enough, guilty they have too much screen time, guilty I made them chicken fingers twice in last week for dinner and a frozen pizza once. I just want five minutes of not being needed. I want to go to the bathroom without an audience. And then I feel awful that I have mom guilt. It’s so confusing, and raw, and overwhelming.