The best. That’s what we all want for our children. The best? What does that even mean? Talk about putting a ton of pressure on ourselves, right? When my daughter was born, I remember thinking “I want to do everything I can to make sure she has the best…” Now, between work, school, drop off and pick up, story time and bath time, birthday parties and more – I keep thinking “Let me just get through the day!” Of course I still want to do everything I can to help my daughter develop, so I recently put her in sports so she’s active and, of course, I read with her every chance I get. She started Pre-K this year so we’ve got the social part covered. What else? How can I teach her patience, improve her hand-eye coordination, and work on her self-confidence, amongst other things? How many activities should I put this kid in?
I have always been what others would consider to be an "overprotective mom" to my two boys. Being a worse case scenario thinker has made me "one of those moms".
I just recently opened a letter to myself that I written at the age of 22. That is now over 20 years. I did not expect to wait so long to open it but I never felt ready. At 22, I was caught up in a vicious food cycle that had basically taken over my life. I remember age 22 being a very tough time in my life; a time of feeling very unworthy and incomplete. I was open to change; I desired change. It’s hard to believe how a simple exercise would truly impact my life.
I was diagnosed with a BRCA2 gene mutation (breast and ovarian cancer gene) in December 2008. My lifetime risk of developing breast cancer was 87%, my risk of ovarian cancer; 45%.
I can’t remember with any certainty who the first friend of mine was to have sex, who the first one was to get married or who had a baby first. I will never forget my first friend to die, though Tamar was a gorgeous 42 year old...
I recently went through two situations where I was required to put myself out there and hope for the best. In both cases, I had to trust that others would make the right decisions based on the information that I had provided.