The Journey

a poetic exploration of postpartum electric shocks shoot fiercely through my breasts I’d massage them but my hands are caked in peanut butter and cracker salt a late-night habit formed out of fear of smothering my child beneath my weight at the only time I find joy in nurturing from my own body an experience I yearned for dreamed of labeled a nuisance by jealous voices whose opinions are never silent rushers, of a sacred process pure intimacy a moment for just two souls

Yesterday, I gave up around 3 p.m. As soon as I woke up, I knew it was going to be a fight. I knew it the moment I went to use the downstairs bathroom and the toilet seat snapped off the hinge. One of my kiddos crawled into my bed to cuddle, which can only mean one thing with this one: his bed was wet. I got up to strip the sheets and throw them in the laundry. Figured I’d get a jump-start on the day. The laundry from last night had never drained. Drain and rinse cycle initia

If your desk looks like this...this one is for you. I’ve had one of those weeks when all my creative inspiration clashed with real life. Parents were reaching out for playdates, parties, and get-togethers. Friends were reaching out for playdates, parties, and get-togethers. Family came into town. Work picked up a bit. And creative ideas were flowing, with nowhere to go. Time and time again, I've seen and heard about the tortured writer with writer's block—the one who has no i

For years, I thought I lacked discipline. Every time I started making progress with my writing, I'd eventually lose momentum, fall into motherhood chaos, let financial worries take over, criticize myself for falling behind, and convince myself I wasn't cut out to be a writer. What I didn't realize was that I wasn't failing—I was repeating the same toxic creative cycle as a mom writer over and over again. Breaking that cycle didn't happen overnight. It took self-awareness, hon

Are you a mom who writes? Do you find it hard to do anything productive with your personal projects in the summer? Is it safe to say that...

I've daydreamed about writing a book before—many, many times. In my dream, I'm sitting in a library or artsy loft or at a desk by a window and writing away in all different forms. I'm surrounded by shelves of books by the greats, with my own sprinkled in. I take coffee breaks when inspiration is low and walk in the city or by the ocean. When inspiration strikes, I breeze back to my desk and write again. Quickly and quietly in my world. Do you know what was not in my daydream

I thought having a freelance career as a mother would be easy. I don't know who or what inspirational quote gave me that idea. Back when I started freelance in 2017–after failing to keep yet another out-of-the-home job due to the chaos of caring for young children– I had an idea: Why don't I just freelance? Yes! Brilliant. It's a dream come true. I’ll work at home with the kids and make my own schedule. Perfect. Some of that was true, and some of that was not. But ultimately,

I used to be stuck in a toxic writing cycle that was slowly destroying my self-worth, my dreams, and my motivation to create at all. I kept blaming myself for not doing enough, until I realized the problem wasn't my passion—it was the cycle I was trapped in. The discovery process In 2024, I had a manifestation list I'm proud of; I know I can accomplish these goals. I just have to make time for my own dreams. Prioritize my writing the same way I prioritize my freelance clients

You know, if you just... All you have to do is... You'd find a job if... Every single time someone starts off with these statements when talking about my journey with finding work, I tune out. I'm done. I'm not being nasty, I know people are trying to help. But the fact is, that anyone who has been in a stable, established working environment before, during, and after the pandemic cannot understand how difficult it is to secure work in 2022 as a stay-at-home mom. Why? So many

I recently took a MasterClass on The Art of Short Storytelling taught by Joyce Carol Oates. I had taken a few of these classes here and there before, but this one quickly became my favorite. In the first lesson, Joyce shared two of the most eye-opening phrases I had ever heard as a writer. The first: “You can't possibly work or create anything of worth if people are constantly interrupting you.” The second: “Constant interruptions are the destruction of the imagination.” Thos