“The day I gave birth to my son wasn’t all hearts and flowers,” writes Jamie Silver. “It’s actually taken me many years to untangle the emotions of that day and the ones that followed. No matter how much you plan for having offspring, you cannot imagine what it will feel like until the day arrives and you’re living it. It was so hard, harder than I could have possibly foreseen.”

But! “I’ll tell you right now: one of the best decisions I made in the first year of his life was throwing myself a party on his birthday.” Let her explain.

Kelly Faircloth, Executive Editor

Samm Davidson recently unpacked her kids’ homework folders and found a sheet that made her heart sink — the weekly reading log. She writes: “While some moms might find this just mildly annoying or (gasp) enjoy forcing this daily reading workout, I know that I need to gear up for the battle of my life. Because my kids don’t just put up the occasional complaint or little fight about reading — they entirely refuse. I am talking about SEAL-team-six-level commitment to their mission never to read.” And today, she’s talking about it. Maybe it’ll make you feel less alone?