I've made some mistakes, y'all and I am so grateful for them. Through my mistakes, I have learned about myself, about others, and about how I want to exist in this world. Much of my work is done online in social media spaces. That is where I host my group, where I do most of my marketing, and where I keep up with friends from across the country and around the world. It's also where I make some of my biggest mistakes and where I came to my latest revelation.

As soon as a family announces a pregnancy it starts. There is advice, there are gifts, there are doctor appointments, questions, checklists, jokes about how you'll never sleep again and everyone you meet waxes poetic about the love you're going to feel. We also scare the crap out of moms. We do it regularly. We do it in the name of their (physical) health and the (physical) health of the baby. There are lists of foods to eat and avoid, what you can drink, how much, and when. There are blood tests and genetic tests and glucose tests. There are enough cups of pee to float the entire family across the globe.

Moms everywhere are overwhelmed. There is too much to do, not enough time, and it seems like everyone else has it all together while you're floundering. I hear you. I've BEEN you (and some days I still am). But I have found some simple self care tricks to use that have helped me fight the overwhelm and get control of my day and my life.

My daughter looks like my mother. It's uncanny. She looks like me too, in the way that I look like my mom.

But mostly she has my attitude, my facial expressions. It isn't so much like watching myself grow up again - she acts like me NOW. There's a tiny 37-year-old woman waddling around my house who is completely over all your nonsense.

There is so much of me in her that it is always jarring when someone assumes that I'm not her mother. Which happens pretty regularly, and almost always in the same place.

I usually love the fall and winter months. I love the cooler weather, the rain and chill. I love sweaters, boots, and blankets. I love holidays and cooking big meals for my family. This year has been different. This year fall has knocked me down, hard, and winter seems intent on kicking me. Everything was moving too quickly for me to catch up. What I really needed was a way to slow down the world.