Happy New Year to you and Happy Birthday to us! And that US includes YOU. Today marks six years since the launch of Twin Cities Moms Blog. In the past year, we’ve held events, gathered neighborhood group mama together, published countless articles and guides and shared community. With a fresh rebrand under our belt, the Twin Cities Mom Collective team is excited about a week of celebration, reflection and, of course, giveaways, so be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page and on Instagram – we’re doing giveaways in both places!
Whether you’re laughing alongside one of our writers as you read her words, or crying and nodding through a post that hits your heart, knowing this gal gets you, we hope you come here to find your people.
It’s our tradition to gather the top 10 posts of the previous year and share them on our birthday. These are all articles written by local moms and we hope you find something that resonates with your journey in one of the posts below. 2020 – a new decade and a new start in so many ways. We can’t wait to see what it brings. Cheers mama!
“The harsh truth is that I didn’t even really know you. I didn’t get to know your favorite color or if you even liked LEGOLAND, or pancakes or riding bikes. I like to dream about who you might have been but in reality, I don’t know anything. Everything was so fast and the end came so quickly. But if you had turned 5 it would have been the best day. It would have been a great day.”
“Now, let me be completely honest – during diaper blowout situations, I often started out singing it sarcastically, but by the time I had sung it through a few times and the mess was getting better, I did mean it. If I’m being honest about that, I also need to share that a few times I started the song off by singing it through clenched teeth with lots of eye rolls. But again, by the end, I did sincerely mean it.”
“I look at my friends struggling with their newborns and selfishly just want a little baby again. Not a toddler who can talk back, but one who wakes up because all they need is their momma to cuddle with. Not a four-year old who has night terrors and now gives us back aches from kicking us so hard all night because we are too tired to fight them to bed to do it all over again… and just give up and in to letting him sleep with us.”
“Life has certainly handed me an assortment of disasters and losing my daughter Audrina, was just one of them. In all of the chaos, I cling to these four words, “Thy will be done.” When there’s nothing else I can do and nothing is in my control, I let go of all expectation and surrender my hopes, dreams and plans over to him.”
“After a week he was back to normal and cleared to start his, um, homework. Twenty practice sessions over a month and then a final exam at a lab to ensure that the procedure was effective. Then we can resume our usual schedule of sleeping chastely side by side without extra protection.”
“This mom in the waiting room began digging in her bag. She produced a piece of clothing, gave it to her daughter, and then gestured toward me. The daughter walked over and gave me a polo shirt the exact size my son wore. I hesitated. I didn’t know how I would return it to her. I didn’t want to take her extra outfit – after all, she had thought ahead – I didn’t. And what if she needed it later? What if they were admitted? Who was I to accept this kindness?”
“If you want to crush a working mom’s spirit, tell her these things when she goes to pick up her sweet baby at the end of a long day at work. These conversations were getting harder and harder for me, and I was beginning to worry that one day they’d just tell me he wasn’t welcome anymore. I could tell caring for him was becoming stressful and all the red flags in my mommy gut started going off.”
“When my twins stopped napping I remember casually mentioning it while at a friend’s house. I still recall where I was standing in her white kitchen, kids underfoot, with a whole group of moms for a playdate. I let the words leave my mouth, “The twins are dropping their nap” and every single mom present gave a collective, horrified gasp.”
“So, here goes:
Once upon a time, in the land of 10,000 lakes, a princess met her prince. They attended royal college, had a stately wedding, purchased a castle in the suburbs and had two royal babies. And they lived happily ever after.
(Record scratch)
Let’s start again.”
“There is a hole where my first grader is supposed to be, and some of you are walking with that hole too, whether it’s first or kinder, middle school even. A place your person was supposed to be. So you let the water run down your back. And sometimes, you kneel down and even put you head in your hands and just let the water run. The trouble with being there, and anywhere else is that once you’re down you don’t know if you can get back up.”
Our most popular articles are local event guides, which we’ve kept out of our Top Ten, but we couldn’t help but share a few here!
