A child is a gift from God.

I know that everyone has heard the phrase “One step forward, two steps back”. Well lately that phrase alone explains my life. To be honest, I am struggling. I am at the point in my life where I thought I would be settled down, with kids, a stable job, finishing or finished with college, and a sense of stability. However, I am in the middle of a divorce, I only have visitation of my kids, I am about 1/3 of the way done with my bachelor’s and still need to get my Masters degree. There is no stability in my life. In fact, or the last 4 years more life changing thing shave happened then I would really like to admit. Is this the new normal for my generation? I am not sure. I look at my aunts, uncles, parents, and even grandparents and I see marriages that have lasted twenty plus years and how settled they were at such a young age. Then I look at my life and the lives of my friends. I just cannot seem to figure out if it is something that we are doing wrong or if it is the way of the world now days. This year alone, I have personally heard from friends and family or more than 4 divorces and for the friends that chose to date or stay engaged for the last 5-7 years: break-ups. I wish I had the answers. I wish that I knew how to be that stable and happy women I dreamed of being as a kid. Right now, all I am is a struggling adult who puts on a happy and confident face more than 85% of the day. I am sure that at least some of you know how that feels and please if any of you know the answers feel free to share.

It was the summer before first grade, in a deserted, hot parking lot. That parking lot just so happened to be my school’s, River Springs Elementary. I had just learned to ride a bike without training wheels the day before and I was actually pretty good at it for learning the day before.

My parents found humor in every situation — even events most people considered not so funny.

By the last February, Raphael Samuel, a 27-year-old Indian filed an unprecedented lawsuit against his parents for getting him born. “Our birth is beyond our control. Human existence is purely nonsensical”, said Samuel during an interview.

Hello y’all, I am married with five children and it has been one hell of a ride. I love my family dearly and wouldn’t trade them for the world. We have been together thirteen years and married for two of them.

Remember when you discovered you were going to be a parent? The moment you learned that inside you, was another life? Remember the incredible fear and excitement you felt all at the same time? All you worried about was whether or not you would be a good mother. Do you remember when?

Black Bloomers are Future Guide Reference’s for Black Woman

A triathlon, like fatherhood, is a multiple-stage event. It involves the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance disciplines of which swimming is just one of them. It's one of my favourite examples that draw parallels to becoming a father, because, like triathletes, us fathers will have to go through multiple-stage events throughout our children’s life (New babies, toddlers, adolescent teens and then adulthood). What are the 3 stages I hear you pondering! Well! The stages (or the Legs) of a Triathlon start with the "hardest" event first; Swimming then it goes on to the cycling event and then finally the running stage.

From the moment we pee on a stick and find out the reason we are so moody and bloated, is because a tiny little human has started to form in our womb, we begin to think about the kind of parent we want to be. There is nothing more personal than parenting…

For many women, and I know for me, finding out you are pregnant comes with an onslaught of thoughts shortly after seeing that little red line. Many questions come to mind. How will my life change when this baby is born? Am I ready to become a parent? Will I have a boy or a girl? Is labor really as painful as it is made out to be on TV? Among all of these questions, one that lingers and continues to become more and more of a question an expectant mother wants to figure out an answer to is: Should I continue working or become a stay at home mom?

Divorce affects every child differently. However, all children of divorce do best when both parents stay actively involved in their lives. This continuing connection makes a positive difference for children of all ages—even teens—minimizing the fact that their parents no longer live together.

How much of a parent's pressure to force a child to eat and drink is partly influenced by outsiders' judgment on how to raise a child? For example, if the child is not fat, the parents/parents-in-law will retort and yell at "why does the baby look so guilty? Because no one wants to be cursed, so their parents cope with it.

Have you ever wondered if you should be a sex-positive parent? Do you have a plan on how you are going to talk to your kids about sex and intimacy? Sex-positive parenting is becoming a more popular approach to the Birds and the Bees Talk. It’s an approach that has demonstrated more success in helping teens and young adults navigate entering the dating world. We know it’s important that kids learn about sex and intimacy. The knowledge they have, or don’t have, can end up having life-altering impacts.

Putting food on the table is a stressful thing to think about for a lot of people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite state, provincial, and other benefits, many people continue to struggle to make ends meet. This means that more often than not, many households go without enough food. As a first-time Mom in the middle of a pandemic; I share your concerns and my heart goes out to you all. Here is what I’ve done to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ll talk about how to shop, and where to shop for all your household essentials and, hopefully diminish some stress for many of you.

Ma, what's going on, Why are we packing everything ?" asked Sumit, a nine-year-old kid, born in a family which is not blessed with wealth.

I took my nieces on a camping trip to Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona, Arizona last weekend. They rarely have the opportunity to get out of the city and I want to expose them to nature as much as possible in the hope that they will grow to appreciate the natural world.

"Estrangement" This subject is not easy to talk about for anyone that is going through it. But there are thousands of parents dealing with this growing trend every day. I am about to share my story with you in hopes that you find that you are not alone. If? You are presently going through this you have an idea of what I am about to say. Most parents that are estranged from an adult child have had no explanation for why. Most go on for years with no contact whatsoever. This seems to become a trend these days. Our new generation of young people thinks this is the way you are allowed to treat your parents.

Hey there! Your friend Gin is back!

Family is everything. Family is more than friendship. Family is the only group of people who you have in your life since the day you were born. “They” say don’t ever take your family for granted. I wholeheartedly believe in that. No matter how far away you might live from your family members - whether it’s 15 minutes, or 15 hours - never lose contact with your family members. Having friends is great; but friendships can end at any time. Although family members may fight at times, they’re still your family. Cherish them all the time. Keep in touch with them.

From the time my mother was a little girl, she always knew she was adopted. She always wanted to know where she came from and who her biological family is. She was born in 1956 and was adopted at eight months old from St. Vincent's in New Orleans, Louisiana. My mother was born there because this was a home for unwed mothers.

By the last February, Raphael Samuel, a 27-year-old Indian filed an unprecedented lawsuit against his parents for getting him born. “Our birth is beyond our control. Human existence is purely nonsensical”, said Samuel during an interview.

Hi, your friend Gin is back!

I’m 41 and haven’t lived my life or truth yet. I have been silenced before I was able to speak up for myself. Is it frustrating? Yes. As early as I can remember my voice and opinions were slowly taken from me, slowly placing me not just in a shell, but in a spiral of hate for others and more so hate of my self. It all started when my mom’s got arrested. At the age of 9 I had to be an adult. I had no idea what the world was like; cruel and cold like the C&C sodas I grew accustomed to drinking after awhile, it was all I cold afford; that a $.25 little Debbie cake and a bag of chips back when potatoe chips was a quarter. We called them cheap and cold. It all took place after my mom and I moved into a one bedroom apartment in a townhouse complex. My moms was over protective of me so I was not allowed to play with the neighborhood kids let alone join the local boys and girls club. As the new superintendent my moms was always on call and never home, something like before we moved. After a few a year living there my mother finally allowed me to play outside with the other kids. I was eager to play with the neighbors; they ran a candy store out their house and that was so cool. Back where I was from you had to go to the cellar to buy candy or to old lady Ms Green house. Sometimes her cookies and frozen cool aid cups tasted funny but they had real candy and snacks like a real store. I guess I raved on it so much that gradually I was permitted to visit the neighbors house. Thinking back now I should have been satisfied with my moms strict rules. I persisted so much that it lead up to spending the night over. I thought it was cool to have girls to play with being as though I had no family in this new city we moved to. But that’s when all the youth got sucked out of me. I was trapped. This old lady who presented her self as the sweetest grandma alive had a deep dark hatred inside her. She had the green eyes. Little did I know it at the time, it all unraveled when her husband died.

Indeed, not all of the experiences that the folk has drawn or the grandparents' words are false and outdated. The ancients were very good at observing the phenomena in life, from nature to society, to make their life easier.

When disease or injury affects brain areas responsible for various conscious and subconscious cognitive processes such as emotions and memories it leads to altered perception. The loss of memories, ability to reign in emotions and process information such as visual structure and colors may cause misrepresentation of the environmental object, e.g., a shadow as a sinister being.

The last we left Ada, she had a date to keep with Charlie, and the 22 year old followed through. They made for Broadway and Guys and Dolls brought the curtain up on their relationship. But things were moving a bit faster for one side of the pairing.

Let us start at the beginning. Hi, my name is Ashley. I grew up in a small town in Wyoming, where everyone knew everyone. It was a quiet, farmer's town, where you would wake up to roosters and sugar beets. My father was employed by Haliburton, so my family was never hurting for money. My mother worked as well, but she was always the one to take care of my brother and me. We played a lot of sports ever since we were little, and our mom was always there. Despite our dad working all the time, when he did come home it was almost like he was not there. He would never pay attention to us and he basically treated us like slaves. Then things took a turn for the worst when he started drinking.

Shantanu and Rashmi were expecting a baby. It has been 4 years since they've been married and the wounds of loss of the stillborn girl child two years ago were beginning to heal. Rashmi was advised to be careful this time by their family doctor as another mishap could prove harmful to her, both physically and mentally.

If you have a newborn baby who is formula-fed, and you notice they are sensitive to or may be allergic to milk protein; soy-based infant formulas are one of the many substitutes available on the market. It's still important, however, to attempt to reintroduce milk protein later on, since these sensitivities can go away. But, if your baby is formula-fed, you don't want to switch directly to whole (3.25%) milk just yet. It's important to introduce gradually.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that COVID-19 pandemic has restricted us to our homes. None of us saw it coming. And suddenly all the happy celebrations and fun gatherings reduced to online conversations and wishes. But we shouldn’t let the tough times get the best of us is something that I told myself and decided to make the most of the free time in hands.

Parents the world over are adapting to a temporary way of living, as many countries maintain their lockdown measures - and for those with little ones, this is not without its challenges. From homeschooling to keeping their little minds active from dawn until dusk, right now, there are many difficulties to overcome as a parent.

I know that everyone has heard the phrase “One step forward, two steps back”. Well lately that phrase alone explains my life. To be honest, I am struggling. I am at the point in my life where I thought I would be settled down, with kids, a stable job, finishing or finished with college, and a sense of stability. However, I am in the middle of a divorce, I only have visitation of my kids, I am about 1/3 of the way done with my bachelor’s and still need to get my Masters degree. There is no stability in my life. In fact, or the last 4 years more life changing thing shave happened then I would really like to admit. Is this the new normal for my generation? I am not sure. I look at my aunts, uncles, parents, and even grandparents and I see marriages that have lasted twenty plus years and how settled they were at such a young age. Then I look at my life and the lives of my friends. I just cannot seem to figure out if it is something that we are doing wrong or if it is the way of the world now days. This year alone, I have personally heard from friends and family or more than 4 divorces and for the friends that chose to date or stay engaged for the last 5-7 years: break-ups. I wish I had the answers. I wish that I knew how to be that stable and happy women I dreamed of being as a kid. Right now, all I am is a struggling adult who puts on a happy and confident face more than 85% of the day. I am sure that at least some of you know how that feels and please if any of you know the answers feel free to share.

My parents found humor in every situation — even events most people considered not so funny.

“It was a spring day when they came”, said Anna. “My sister Lisa and I along with many others saw the soldiers that liberated us. We were prisoners of Bergen Belsen concentration camp and many of us had come from the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. We were the only members of our family left, for the Nazis had murdered our family along with 11 million others.”

Just grew up in a two women household but his adopted uncles and second cousins and his own uncles gave him the inspiration to be a man and a good son .

My first memory is the first time I saw my baby brother when he came home from the hospital. I was exactly 3 years and 16 days old. I had no idea how much my life would change. From what I've been told, I stayed with my mother's parents while Mama was in the hospital having a baby. I distinctly remember standing on a chair so that I could reach the telephone to talk to Daddy. Apparently the "thing" was over, and I had a baby brother. I remember thinking, "Not yet, I don't." Being the only granddaughter on my mother's side of the family and the oldest granddaughter on my father's side of the family had made me quite spoiled. I believed I would have the last word on whether or not the baby would stay or not. no My grandparents wrapped me up in a winter coat, toboggan and mittens. It was December 16, 1968 after all and a typical North Caroline winter day ... cold! This is where my memory begins .... I distinctly remember seeing my mother, my father and a white wicker basket in the doorway to my parents' bedroom. The only thing I can remember about my father is a huge smile o his face that I thought made him look goofy and it quickly crossed my mind that I had never seen Daddy look that happy. "Oh no, this is not going to be good, is it," I thought to myself. Mama was wearing a yellow silk nightgown covered by a matching yellow housecoat. I quickly looked under the bassinet to see if she also had on yellow bedroom slippers. She did. From that moment on yellow became a significant color in my life but that's another story. When I finally looked at Mama, she actually looked scared. She was looking directly at me, and I think both of us were holding our breath. I realized just how important this moment was to my mother, and I knew I didn't want to disappoint her. I wanted her to still love me as much as she loved whatever was lying in that bassinet. The walk down the hall towards Mama and Daddy was one of the longest walks in my life. I wanted to hug Mama but the bassinet was between me and the woman who was my mother first. Strike one. "It" was already coming between me and my mom, and I wasn't a happy camper. I stopped walking and took off my mittens, which were clipped to my coat sleeves. I don't remember anyone saying a word. I looked at Daddy who was still grinning like he was singlehandedly populating the world. I looked at Mama who looked like she ate something bad. Her hair was perfect, and she had put on lipstick. I knew at that moment that my mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, and I would do anything ... anything ... to make sure she never stopped loving me. I, then, walked to the side of the bassinet. The baby looked more like a hairless rat than a human baby. He was so little. And his face was all screwed up like he was trying to laugh and cry at the same time but no sound was coming out. "Pew, what's wrong with it," I thought. He was wearing a tiny T-shirt with funny looking sleeves and a cloth diaper that looked big enough to use as a blanket. He was red all over, especially his screwed up little face. He was waving his arms and legs around as if he were trying to stop himself from falling. I leaned over him and sniffed. "He smells good, like a new toy," I thought, "Maybe this won't be so bad after all." I got up the nerve to touch him. I slowly moved one finger towards him and my mom reached out her hand as if to stop me. After making eye contact with each other, Mama stepped back but I knew that she was watching me ... and that she would be watching me for the rest of my life as long as "it" was in the same room. I lightly touched the baby on his left arm. Nothing. He didn't look at me or stop squirming. I don't know what I was expecting to happen but that definitely wasn't it. So, I tried again. I touched his leg, holding my finger against his soft skin just a little longer this time. For a split second, the baby stopped squirming. Even though he didn't look at me, I knew he felt my touch. I felt the adults in the room make a collective sigh of relief. But, I wasn't finished yet. I remember putting my mittens back on and when I had rearranged my mittens and clothes, I said ... as if I were the Queen of England ... "Okay, you can take him back now. I want a sister." I was being obstinate and knew it, and I didn't care. No one asked me how I felt about having another child in the house, and I decided that I wanted my mother and father all to myself. I shyly looked up at Mama to see her reaction. She looked hurt, and I felt like a monster. Still smiling like a maniacal clown at the rodeo, Daddy said that taking the baby back wasn't an option. I knew from the tone of his voice, if not the expression on his face, that I better not press my luck.

Being a mom is sometimes a weird experience. Being a mom of 4, even more so. For much of the last 17 years, I was so busy being there for everyone else, I forgot to be there for me.

It was the summer before first grade, in a deserted, hot parking lot. That parking lot just so happened to be my school’s, River Springs Elementary. I had just learned to ride a bike without training wheels the day before and I was actually pretty good at it for learning the day before.

This method was de facto born given the context of the recently discovered bacteria. It, thus, argued that this was to downplay body contacts that might have, in all likelihood, transmitted diseases to children. Not until recently has this sparked controversy, since leaving children crying it out might breed negative psychological effects and later health impairments.

28th May 2020

Dear Sis,

Thank you, Big Sister Hannah!