Tongue Tied

There's a lot of buzz out there about women, especially mothers, comparing and judging each other. I don't think anyone is immune from giving or receiving it. I've been feeling shoved under the microscope of popular opinion lately, which isn't pleasant. I'm not the kind of person to care in the sense that I'll let judgment change my mind, but at the same time, it still gets tiring to have to defend yourself all the time, even if it is just mental responses and reasoning without actual verbalization. But I feel like being honest, so, here you go. My mom confessions. Judge away. I let my kids play with electronics. Too much sometimes. We eat sugar. GASP! We also eat out at least once every week. We're talking Happy Meals and carbonated beverages here.  I give my kids Tylenol when they're sick. I don't force them to eat foods they can't stomach. My house is often messy. Strike that. Nearly always messy. I let them stay up pretty l...

Today marks my first Father's Day without a father. Well, that's certainly a melancholy sentence. I wasn't sure how I'd feel this month. June marks a lot of things--his birthday, three months since he died, Father's Day...And while I knew I wouldn't be a total wreck (that's just not Parsons style), I've also learned that grief can return out of nowhere. Maybe it's tears, maybe it's stress, maybe it's a need to read or write constantly, but it will manifest itself somehow. And that can be a good thing. It gets it out where I have to confront it and pour it into something productive. Today, I may shed a few tears or at the very least swallow away the burning lump in my throat. I may feel a bit sad that I can't give my dad a sarcastic greeting card and a meal at a buffet. I'll definitely think about him all day long and feel his absence acutely. But, more than the sadness, I am just so happy. I've found you can be happy...