My husband and I lived in our South Charlotte neighborhood for about a year before we had any meaningful interaction with our neighbors. Then one weekend, I showed up to the pool sporting 38 weeks of pregnancy. Suddenly I was the new neighbor to meet. When you enter motherhood, you’re instantly baptized into a cult,… Continue reading The Cult of Mom Friends
Author: aphoward326
In a Free Country, Those That Make the Law, Must Be Subject to It
At the 1976 Republican National Convention, party leadership came to the table with an objective: shifting the support of traditionally Democratic Catholics to the GOP. Their solution? Temporarily adopt a pro-life stance and promise an anti-abortion constitutional amendment. At that time, the majority of the party was pro-choice, with fewer than 40% of delegates at… Continue reading In a Free Country, Those That Make the Law, Must Be Subject to It
The Terrifying Isolation of Postpartum Depression
It hit me when we were packing up to leave the hospital. As I dressed my daughter in her first outfit and placed her in her carrier, I got an anxious feeling in my stomach. It got worse as we got on the elevator, then into the car. By the time we pulled into our… Continue reading The Terrifying Isolation of Postpartum Depression
Lessons From the Front Nine
This weekend, I will hit the big 4-0. This puts me on what they call, the back nine, of at least my highly functioning years. If I’m lucky. Ironically, people have suspected that this has been my age since I was in my early 20s. While this served me in my career, it’s never been… Continue reading Lessons From the Front Nine
Motherhood and the Loss of Identity, Inappropriateness, and Impulsivity
You know all those things they don’t tell you about becoming a parent until it’s too late? The necessary self-editing has been the most jarring one for me. Here’s an experiment that will communicate this parenting struggle: Take a couple of your favorite rated R movies and then edit them down to be appropriate for… Continue reading Motherhood and the Loss of Identity, Inappropriateness, and Impulsivity
6 Tips on How to Have the Best BravoCon Experience
Before you buy those 2022 BravoCon tickets, read up… As a Bravo fanatic, the inaugural BravoCon in 2019 was an amazing experience, well worth every penny (and there were A LOT of pennies). As an inaugural event, I was incredibly impressed at the seamless production, logistics, and overall event staff – all of whom came… Continue reading 6 Tips on How to Have the Best BravoCon Experience
Britney Spears and The Survival Cycle of Rage and Surrender
“It’s embarrassing and demoralizing what I’ve been through. And that’s the main reason I’ve never said it openly. And mainly, I didn’t want to say it openly, because I honestly don’t think anyone would believe me.” – Britney Spears during her June 23rd testimony When I heard Britney Spear’s testimony to the court, I felt it in… Continue reading Britney Spears and The Survival Cycle of Rage and Surrender
How Howard Stern Helped Soothe My 8 Year Old Daughter’s Anxiety
How my anxious child was helped when I got hypnosis therapy. When my husband told me that I might be causing my daughter’s intense separation anxiety, I wanted to hold his head underwater. After all, he was the one that passed the anxiety gene down to her. I am the cool, laid back, easygoing person in our house. They are the… Continue reading How Howard Stern Helped Soothe My 8 Year Old Daughter’s Anxiety
I Thought I Was Dying. Then They Put Something in My Ass.
I was always tired, moody, and in pain and it turns out my hormones were to blame. Three years ago, I spent many a night online trying to diagnose the malady ravaging my body. Lupus…MS…Muscular Dystrophy…brain tumors…bone cancer…I was certain there was something terribly wrong with me. I knew the diagnosis was dire given I… Continue reading I Thought I Was Dying. Then They Put Something in My Ass.
I Was in a Cult. Those That Told Me So, Only Made Me More Zealous.
If someone you love is trapped in a cult or deep in conspiracy theories, you might not want to tell them so. I originally wrote this piece for a local newspaper weeks before the 2020 election. I held it back, perhaps in an act of cowardice, for fear that it might do precisely the opposite… Continue reading I Was in a Cult. Those That Told Me So, Only Made Me More Zealous.