Hello Struggling Parents,

Parenting right now (in the middle of a pandemic) is extremely hard.

8 months in, and we have all been pushed beyond our limits.

As difficult as this time is for me, I am painfully aware that others suffer more.

There are children who are losing their parents.

There are parents who cannot “hang in there” anymore.

Will this time pass? Yes.

Will it leave a lasting effect on our lives and our children’s lives? Yes.

You have the choice to make it a positive or a negative impact.

A year ago my mother-in-law and mother died suddenly within two weeks of each other.

As I left the hospital after my mother’s death, I was struck by how finite life is.

One minute she was making Christmas cookies with me and talking about the future birth of my son. The next, she was gone.

All the decisions she made, all the things she put into this world, her legacy, was done.

Completed in one instant.

As hard as this time is, we will never get it back. My children will only be 5 and 7 months old for a short period of time.

One day my legacy will be written and done. But today, I can still change it.

I can live in a way that impacts my children for the good or the bad.

Every day I get up and make a conscious decision to impact them for the good.

It’s not easy. I don’t always succeed.

In fact, most days, I feel like I am failing. But I have to keep trying because when my moment comes, my story is done.

I want to know I tried, adapted, and changed as much as I could.

What legacy are you writing today?

Originally posted December 7, 2020.

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The image was created by Midjourney using the following prompt: The hands of a young mom who is writing in a letter to her children. We just see the desk and the pen going across the paper. The shot is from the side and down on the desk, almost straight down. The vibe is light and airy.