A guest blog post by April Lovelace Simmons 

One of the most poignant emotions of motherhood, in my experience, has been longing. I have intense, heart aching longings that are as huge as the cosmos and as persistent and unignorable as birthing pains. Before becoming a mother, I wanted things, even longed for certain things- connection, true partnership, stability, motherhood itself. But I never experienced the overwhelming, conflicting, and indescribably intense longings that accompanied motherhood.

My entrance to motherhood was not simple, or natural, or beautiful. Becoming a mother took so many things from me that I never expected to lose- things that I didn’t even know a person could lose. All at once, in an avalanche of loss, my entire life and being slid into a mushy, yawning, all-encompassing sink hole of love and sacrifice. I loved my baby wildly, with complete abandon. But I also felt the betrayal of resentment at what this miracle had cost. I craved the autonomy...

By Danielle D Jenkins, PsyD

Moms are burned out. That was true before the pandemic. It’s even more true now. Sure, there are some families who are benefitting from less running around but for the most part women are talking about being maxed out or at their breaking points. It makes sense. Most of us are running in a deficit of self-care in normal times. Now it’s even worse.

So what’s a mom to do? Self-care, rest, and prioritizing health is the solution to burnout. So how do you do this when the gyms, salons, and spas are closed and you have to mask up to go to the happiest place on earth (Target obviously!)? Of course we willingly cut back on possible exposures and deny ourselves further. So how do we not only survive but maybe even thrive.

With a little trick I like to call self-care stacking. Let’s say you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and are ready to fight the world from the first moment. This is where the stacking comes in. If you are having a...

Guest Blog by April Lovelace Simmons 

So, y’all, being a parent is hard. Being a mom is a tough job. There are so many days that the forest crowds out the trees and the overwhelm sets in and I forget. I forget the sweetness and the privilege. I forget the honor and the trust. While struggling through sleep deprivation, piles of laundry, and endless to-do lists, it’s so easy to lose sight of why it’s all worth it. Then, in the middle of the night, a sweet little warm body, smelling of soap and sleepiness comes to my bed with trusting, outstretched arms. A little voice murmurs, “Mommy, I LIKE you.” And I remember.

I am a working mom. After spending two years at home with my sweet girl, I re-entered the work force “part-time” when my husband and I opened a business. The quotation marks are very deliberate; as anyone with a brand new business knows, there is really no such thing as part time. I missed my little one every moment that she was...

Why can’t I be happy?

By Danielle D Jenkins, PsyD

I frequently have friends, family, and women I see in my private practice say, “I have everything I’ve ever wanted and I still can’t be happy.” They go on to describe that they have the fulfillment of most of the things they ever wanted and yet feel unable to connect to it or feel happy about it. This is actually quite universal. It is common to feel this way after any big thing in our lives – weddings, graduations, new homes, retirements. Often people expect to feel one way about something and then feel many other things on top of that one feeling.

Feelings are complex

One of the double-edged realities of adulthood is we feel multiple things simultaneously. Sometimes this works out to be a gift and sometimes it makes for a lot of confusion. The way we talk about feelings is that they are isolated, individual emotions that come and go as directed and expected. This just isn’t true. We...