Healing Mama

I need a healing right now.  My mind is a whizzing blur of tangled thoughts. I feel like a glowing orb of sad feelings is just emanating from me non-stop.  Starting marriage counseling is probably for the best.  Once started though it gets the ball rolling for more open and frank discussions that are usually left unsaid.  That seems so much easier doesn't it?  Not in the long run for anyone of us I know but right now I feel like a pretty sucktastic person and mother.  I'm too addled and confused to feel real relevant or like I am imparting any wisdom and life skills on anyone.  So I'm going to do something nice for someone else.  Crunchy Chewy Mama has a friend in need. Liz has always been there for Jessica when she was in need and now Liz, a mother … [Read more...]

I’m Grateful for You- Lattes and Life

It's not your typical friendship.  In fact, I can't even remember the last time we saw each other in person.  It might have been at my bachelorette party and that was about ten years ago now.  Remember those things called web rings?  They were all the rage in the new millennium right along with message boards.  Tiffany and I met on one of those message boards. Both new west coasters, trying to find jobs and the only thing we initially had in common was that we were girlfriends of Marines.  We bonded over that and our shared geography.I don't know when we first started breaking away from the message boards and only talking about our boyfriends and their deployments but our first meeting was quite memorable.  We decided to get together at Balboa Park.  … [Read more...]

So Long Old Friend

Recently I posted about how good it felt to come away from an afternoon spent with friends and colleagues.  It was the SVMoms Group DC Metro Moms Symposium and I needed it.  Weeks later it was announced that SVMoms would soon cease to exist.I can't tell you how sad this has made me.  Being a part of SVMoms/DCMM was one of my favorite parts of being in this field.  I not only enjoyed the camaraderie of other women, writers and friends but came away from each meeting and get together feeling revitalized, smarter and more accomplished. While DCMM didn't pay, it provided something so much more invaluable to me than monetary means.  There were adventures that happened because I wrote for that group, opportunities presented themselves that created more … [Read more...]

I’m Getting All Schmaltzy About My Friends

Along with all the other things you are thinking about this month- heading back to school, stocking up on the latest fall fashions, closing down that summer house (heh), you can now add in that September is NATIONAL FEMALE FRIENDSHIP MONTH.According to a 2009 University of Michigan study women with close female friends have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. I fully agree with this statement because I know it isn't just the wine on girls night that makes me relaxed. It is the sharing of our week's stories, the cackling laughter, encouragement and support that we give each other weekly that keeps me going and it is better than any magic pill in a bottle.I feel truly blessed to have as many friends in my life as I do. It is a lot of work to keep some of those contacts going through … [Read more...]