Catherine

I don’t think you realize just how thankful I am for you, choosing to give your life for the betterment of the future. Attempting to shape the minds of tweens/teens is not a job for the weak. It means dealing with physical and emotional changes for them.

We were not meant to work through motherhood alone. Keeping friends after motherhood helps keep me sane. We talk about anything and everything: married life, single life, divorced life, anything that is going on with myself and my kids. My friends provide me with a reassurance as well as realization that I am not alone in this journey. 

We will always be able to help them financially no matter what, but we wanted them to learn that no one is just going to hand them money for nothing; it needs to be earned. Although it might seem like too major of a life lesson for children to learn, I believe this concept will grow with them.

We are teaching our daughter that we trust her, that we understand she is maturing, and that some lessons she needs to figure out on her own. But no matter what happens with this relationship or future relationships, we will be there for her every step of the way.

My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010 after we accepted that something was wrong. She had left the stove on more than once and had forgotten to take her medicine. It was our wake-up call to seek help.

My son Petey unfortunately was on the receiving end of a friend asking why he wasn’t coming to a party. I heard him respond, “Party? I guess I was not invited.”

Music helps create a better bond with my children. When they get in the car from the pickup line, they pick the music, and it helps me to determine what kind of day they have had. Being the mother of two pre-teens, it’s sometimes difficult for them to tell me how they are feeling. Music has helped them express those feelings.