Alicia Reagan

Mama, can I be honest with you for a minute? Most of us are not raising arrows. We are surviving. We are managing snacks and moods and homework and bedtime routines and sibling arguments and screen time battles. And we fall into bed at night wondering if we did enough, said enough, prayed enough. We wonder if we are failing our children in ways we cannot see yet. I want you to know: that question itself tells me something about you. The mother who wonders if she is doing enough still cares...

I have sat in church during marriage sermons and felt like I disappeared. Everyone laughing at the husband and wife stories.Everyone nodding along when the pastor talks about “date night” and “keeping the spark alive.” Everyone turning to smile at their spouse when he says, “Reach over and take your partner’s hand.” And you sit there. Hands in your lap. Heart tight. Trying to keep your face calm. Valentine’s Day just makes it louder. Sermon series on love. Couple challenges. Marriage...

There were nights I rocked a crying baby with dishes in the sink, laundry sour in the washer, and another little one calling my name from down the hall. My body ached, my eyes burned, and the thought that kept circling my mind was, “I cannot do this again tomorrow.” If someone had told me then, “You just need to rest,” I might have cried or laughed. Rest felt like a joke. Rest was for other women with quieter homes, easier babies, or husbands who came home early. Not for me. Maybe you feel...