It has been five Pride’s since my daughter shared her truth with us. Pride means a lot to my daughter. She understands it to be a special time for people to come together to celebrate their differences. To relish in our individuality and support others like her. During her first Pride, she wore her very…
Three Things We Can Learn From Nature
You know from my reflection about the bird nest, that I firmly believe we can learn everything we need to know from nature. As Spring begins to unveil its gloriousness, I am reminded once again how true that is. This past weekend, my family discovered a very large turtle on our property. As I watched…
Socks Don’t Have Penises
Recently, I had a candid conversation with a very close friend. She shared that my transgender child is lucky to have us as parents. She says that she would have challenged her child if they had spoken their truth. This comment completely flips my perspective on its head. It has never occurred to me to…
Peaceful Drops of Rain
Water is a magnificent force of nature. It is still and gentle like a snowflake. Calming, like a drop of rain. Peaceful. On the other hand, that same drop of water, while appearing to be dainty and harmless can, over time, etch a hole into stone. I believe Lucretius said it best, “the drops of…
Disrupter
“Let’s conjure up, from the depth of our souls: The truest, most beautiful lives we can imagine. The truest, most beautiful families we can fathom. The truest, most beautiful world we can hope for.” ~Glennon Doyle, Untamed, 2020 I feel lost. Succumbing to the undertow and being swept out to sea. The overt oppression, police…
The Family You Choose
“Shawls … made for centuries universal and embracing, symbolic of an inclusive, unconditionally loving, God. They wrap, enfold, comfort, cover, give solace, mother, hug, shelter and beautify. Those who have received these shawls have been uplifted and affirmed, as if given wings to fly above their troubles…” Written in 1998 by: Janet Severi Bristow Do…
5 Things You Can Do to Calm an Anxious Heart
It seems that there is some sort of scary or depressing news at every corner. As a result, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who is not suffering from some sort of anxiety these days. Just last night I marveled at the incredibly long lines at the gas station while inwardly hoping that we…
3 Things My Trans Daughter Taught Me Through a Game of Capture the Flag
After a full day of work, I come home to pick up my older two children to take them to soccer practice. My daughter is patiently waiting for me by the door. Typically, this is not a good sign. “Mommy,” she said, “we need to talk. School was not good. I’m coming to ride in…
When a Simple Call Changes Everything
“Do you have time to talk?” My stomach hits the floor as I read these words from my children’s school. All of my readers out there who are parents know that feeling, don’t you? The heart quickens, the sweat starts to bead up on your forehead. I feel like this feeling intensifies when it pertains…
The Cup
It was a warm March day and I was on my back deck basking in the glorious sunshine. At least that is what I wished I was doing. Instead of resting and enjoying the sunshine, I was actually feverishly transferring a monogram onto a shiny, rainbow wine glass with a tool that looked like a…
Nurse Phillip
I still remember it like it was yesterday. There he was, sitting behind the desk in the elementary school nurse’s office. Handmade art adorned his walls. Superheroes, rainbows, and typical school nurse warnings decorated his space. Wash your hands signs, Band-Aids, a cot in the adjacent room. I remember every single detail. Students clearly loved…
Swimming Against the Waves
Time is a precious and sought-after commodity when parenting. It’s so easy to remind other parents to take time for themselves. In order to parent effectively, we must fill our own bucket. Put on our oxygen mask first. We say these words to our friends and hear them in return. But, does anyone out there…
5 Things I have Learned Being the Parent of a Transgender Child
As a parent of a transgender child, there are surprising truths that I learn every day. My life is full of quiet, yet unrelenting fear. As a white, cis, heterosexual, woman, I never realized the challenges that face the trans community. Since the moment my daughter shared her truth with us, we have feared for…
The Mammogram
It has been seven years since my shocking diagnosis. Seven years since I faced the unimaginable. Breast cancer, or any cancer really, is a devastating and life-altering journey that changes you forever. Now, just one week before my annual mammogram, I look at the date and my pulse quickens. My breath is evasive and a…
The Danger of Laws that Govern Access to Medical Care
Should legislators have the right to enact laws governing access to medical care? According to Texas, they should. Recently, Texas legislature has taken up SB1646: Relating to the protection of children, including the definition of child abuse and the prosecution of the criminal offense of abandoning or endangering a child. Horrifically, the language of the…
Pivoting to the New Normal
The feel of his skin under my fingertips is cool, unbroken, and rugged. It feels so different from the soft skin of a newborn that I remember, yet all the while has a familiarity to it. His shoulders are now broad. His nose is more defined and chiseled. The most noticeable change is that the…
Precariously Poised on the Precipice of Puberty
Precariously poised on the precipice of puberty, she awaits. She has known her authenticity since she was born. Thankfully, she is brave enough, or most importantly free enough, to share it with us, her parents. Five years and many months since that day, I no longer remember the boy I birthed. I adore this beautiful…
When a Pause Means More Than a Moment in Time
A pause is an opportunity to take a breath, a moment. We pause in times of distress or before we make big decisions. The pause gives us room to be, space to live, time to take things in and survey the landscape. The pause is a gift. It is a reprieve we are given or…
When Our Kids Are Attacked- Instinct Kicks In
I have a flower box hanging outside of my dining room window and every year I fill it with beautiful plants and flowers. This past spring was like most others in that I planted some sweet seedlings with the intention of marveling as they grew. But this spring was also a little different. As a…
The Weight of the Words
On this Transgender Day of Visibility, Jan Moore reflects on taking a stand and shouting I AM HERE.
She Deserves To Play
I am the mother of a young girl who enjoys moving her body, is an amazing teammate and wants to play sports. In other words, she wants to do something that should be within her fundamental rights to do. The reality is that I am a mother of a ten-year-old transgender daughter and because of…
Mental Health Minute
Everything changes. Routines disrupted. School closes. Businesses board up. Surgeries are canceled. People start to die. Next, the air is sucked out of the room and panic seeps into that space. Thankfully, here we are a year later with more light at the end of the tunnel than we have seen in a while. The…
Brunch
There she sat, across from me at the Bob Evans. Our daughters were in elementary school and very dear friends. I invited her to brunch that day to discuss something heavy over coffee and pancakes. We spoke about how much the girls enjoy spending time together and that my daughter absolutely loved her many border…
Pregnancy and Pillboxes
So my good friend calls me the other day to fill me in on her recent experience at the endocrinologist. She previously shared her nervousness about the appointment because she was seeing a new practitioner. Her beloved endo had retired last month, so I was anxious to hear how the appointment went. “I don’t know…
Elixir
The silent hum on my wrist alerts me to her presence. Hurriedly, I finish up what I am doing and sprint out the back door. She bounds towards me carrying the elixir of life. Thankfully, she has coffee. Not just any coffee, but the coffee that she hand roasts for her small business. I am…
Join Me
I couldn’t think of a better day to launch my blog than Zero Discrimination Day. According to the United Nations, this day is dedicated to “highlighting the urgent need to take action to end the inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion…