Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
My Father, Myself
The red light was flashing on my answering machine when I arrived home that warm summer evening. I casually dropped my tennis bag onto the kitchen floor, wiped the last few drops of perspiration from my forehead and pressed the play button. The machine quickly accessed the solitary message and replayed.
By David Marsden6 years ago in Families
Unmother
Being a woman, in any society really, is difficult. Because in all of them, the top thing for women is to be a mother. To give birth. To procreate. Which inherently isn't a horrible thing. It can be a beautiful thing. But it also puts an incredible amount of pressure on us. Those who aren't ready. Those who may never be ready. Those who want but can never ever have. Those who know for sure they never want them.
By Aurelie M Jones6 years ago in Families
Thoughts From a Working Mom
As I parted ways with my "babies" and my husband, I had a thought. I would miss them terribly, but I was proud for all the work I had accomplished leading up to this moment, and I wanted to make them proud too. No guilt. Just wanting to represent for our crew.
By Amy Neuman Proffitt6 years ago in Families
10 Things Teenage Girls Need to Hear
Ok ladies, taking off the kid gloves for this one. As a mother of teenage girls, sometimes we have to have those less-than-fun convos about life stuff. Not a nagging sort of "clean up your room" talk. The real stuff. The stuff that might seem a little raw and maybe not so nice. Truth be told, and my girls will attest to this, I am not a sugar coat it kinda chic. I say it like it is, Love it or hate it. I would rather be real and have someone not be happy with me than not be true to myself just to get approval. Those days are done. And, when it comes to speaking truth to my girls, especially as teenagers, I gotta keep it real. If you can't handle the truth, you may not love this blog. But, I assure you, it's important.
By Amy Neuman Proffitt6 years ago in Families
Let’s Talk Nudes (Part 2)
I am the mother of three teenage girls... 19, 16, and 14. What I'm going to share with you is not a new epidemic, but has been going on for years. What I'm seeing is an infiltration of this issue at a younger age, and it's becoming more wide-spread and commonplace. So, here we go... let's talk nudes.
By Amy Neuman Proffitt6 years ago in Families
Being a Loner Is Not a Bad Thing
I have been a divorced mother for the past sixteen years, and my daughter has left to college, graduated after three and half years, moved back but this time with her boyfriend, got married and moved to Idaho. Afterwards, I became somewhat of a loner, though I come from a very large family, plenty of brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins that I can't count without putting it on paper. I participated at every single birthday party, wedding, baby shower, family trip and come from a family that does nothing else out of their circle. Literally, my family can get together every weekend at someone's house for years and years and years and this is all they ever want to do.
By Jeannette Perez6 years ago in Families
Why You Should Work from Home When You Have a Family
If you have a family, you probably keep them in mind with everything that you do. For example, when choosing a career, you might want to look for one that is going to be best for you and everyone else in your household. If this is the case, then you may want to look into working from home if you can. Although it's not an option for everyone, working from home can be a good thing for those who have families for these reasons.
By Sasha McGregor6 years ago in Families
Toys for 4-Year-Old Kids
Deciding on a gift for anyone can be a daunting task—but for a five-year-old girl, it can be especially difficult. She is now out of the toddler stage, and is about to start mainstream school. She may well have been attending a nursery, where she will have been interacting with, and influenced by, other children. It is fair to say that there is a vast number of gifts available, but only a certain number are suitable for the child you are buying for. Let us try to narrow the list down to nine gifts that may be practical options.
By JoshuaGiardina6 years ago in Families
The Surprise of Her Life (Pt. 2)
It had been a long night. At least for D. Of course, O. would go into labor during a terrible storm. A tornado watch had been issued for the Small Town area about six o'clock the previous evening. Rain was falling in sheets and one could barely see their hand in front of their face. A green tint fell over the sky and it was a good thing they lived so close to the salon; just about three blocks. If the weather was good and they weren't dog tired, they could walk home. Since O. had been pregnant, though, they had been riding home. It felt a little extravagant to be driving a mere three blocks and the exercise would have been great for her, but who was he to tell her she would benefit from the walk? Besides, standing on her feet all day, booked solid with appointments, he knew her body must hurt. At the very least, he knew her feet were tired. Good thing they rode home because she went into labor just about the second they crossed the threshold. D.'s mother lived with them and took care of M. and B. while they were at the salon. D. ran into the kitchen, where Mama was preparing chicken and dumplings for dinner, telling her it was time to go to the hospital. He grabbed her suitcase which was parked at the front door and they left. The trip downtown would take a good 20 minutes and that was only if there wasn't much traffic. Good job Central Expressway was completed in Small Town last year. It sure helped make the trip downtown seem shorter. They made it in record time and the nurse guided her to a room while he stayed at the desk completing paper work. The contractions were extraordinarily painful and only two minutes apart already. O. wondered how long it would be before this baby made its way into the world. She hoped the stormy weather would not be indicative of this baby's life.
By Paula Walker Baker6 years ago in Families
Di the Book
Introduction Well I have always been told I should write a book about my life, or more accurately, "Gosh, you should write a book!" in a sarcastic tone. This sarcastic tone often comes after I have spilled great amounts of personal shit all over the floor in front of them or bared my soul like some sort of over emotional flasher—a weird oxymoron to behold I am sure. I tend to have to explain the whole story, I feel I have to start from the beginning or give the full story because otherwise I come off as even more of a psycho than I already do. I am sure this pattern is portrayed in the below sufficiently.
By Diane Campbell6 years ago in Families
Dementia's Child
Daddy was always healthy. I don't remember him going to the doctor much when I was younger but as he aged of course there were issues that needed to be addressed. He never had any very serious problems a couple of scares that turned out to be nothing, until 1998 when he had an accident. After that it seemed to be one thing after another and Daddy always seemed so sad.
By Kristi Wright6 years ago in Families
