I recently attended a parent-teacher conference at my son's school. His school had introduced something interesting. Students are now asked to self-assess their progress against set learning criteria, with no prior input or correction from the teacher. These self-assessments are then shared with parents during a one-on-one conference. My son scored himself quite well in some areas; confident, clear, and honest. But in other areas, I noticed something familiar. He marked himse

A few months ago, my kids’ cousins had just started at a new school. During their first week, I asked if they had made any friends. One of them, just 10 years old, said something that stayed with me: I have people I talk to but I wouldn’t call them friends. I paused. Hearing that from a 10-year-old stopped me in my tracks. There was so much awareness in that simple statement. I remember thinking, wow… kudos to the parents for raising a child with that kind of discernment. At

I’ve been thinking about a moment from my first pregnancy. My due date had passed, and everyone told me to wait. But after experiencing a loss before, waiting didn’t feel right to me. So I chose a C-section. What stayed with me wasn’t just the decision, but the idea that there was a “right way” to do things; a stronger way, a better way. But in that moment, I wasn’t thinking about expectations. I was thinking about safety. Mine and my baby’s. And that choice gave me both. It