| Modern Mom |

My first initial reaction to Disney pulling a pair of pajamas from their online stores was "so what it's just a pair of pajamas Why did they care?" Every summer I spent time at my grandparents houses. My Grandma had shelves full of breakable glass ornaments and a lot of memorabilia from their families, and from their own adventures in which they participated in rodeo events and Gymkhana. My Grandparents were farmers and my Grandpa was a full-blown blue jeans and 10 Gallon hat wearing cowboy. My six year old self absolutely loved going to visit because I was immersed in that culture for the week or two and boy did I embrace it. I would wake up hours earlier than I normally would, race downstairs, put on my rubber boots and ran out to go do my "chores". These weren't chores that my Grandparents actually assigned to me they were self-assigned because I wanted to help on the farm. It actually consisted of me getting it bucket and going out and collectin

     A  whore with  a white sk irt and black thong dancing  around a fire set in  my   backyard. A half duplex  with paint peeling off the siding ,  parked at  the base of a hill by  the  railroad  tracks in the ghetto industrial area of south east Calgary.   Long bearded bikers with leather vests and oil stained denim walking in and out of  my home as they pleased.  A sketchy couple living in the basement  spray painting every wall of the basement in colorful  words of aggression towards my mother ,  who  by the way had   way too many boyfriends.  Waking up with my sister, completely alone in a dark house  realizing we were left at home by ourselves again.        These  are memories that helped me come to the decision that when I grow up, I was going to  be married, have a stable home, be successful in a chosen career and  when I brought a child into the world that I would provide a life that I never got to experience.  So I made a plan  to be  better than my up bringing . I

I slide into the drivers side of my truck and slam the door behind me, sending an echo into the parking lot of the school. Parent council meeting, what a joke . I punch the steering wheel and immediately regret it, the stinging hot burn from my hand also is the final tipping point and the well of tears I had been fighting since leaving the school finally came washing over me. The release of emotions - anger, frustration, embarrassment, all come crashing in like a tidal wave, filling the cab of my truck and replacing all the oxygen. Gasping for breath between sobs I replay in my mind the judging looks from the other parents. The mom's who weren't late to the meeting on the first place, who aren't the last to sign up for the volunteer positions and the ones who bake the cookies instead of buying them at the last minute. I feel their eyes on me, sometimes with what I assume is pity, sometimes annoyance, almost always judgement. Yes, I am a single mom. I'm doing the best

I worked in a car dealership for 2 years before I became a stay at home mom to my daughter. I didn’t apply for the position, it kinda just fell into my lap. I was working as a waitress in a local pub - one of the only watering spots in town so it was quite busy. Especially in the winter months   people would gather there for a cold beer and socialize rather than gathering around a fire and cracking a few cold ones and sharing some laughs.   On one particularly busy Saturday night, I was joking and laughing with my tables, ensuring that their memory of their waitress was a good one - so that when the time for the bills to hit the table they would be extra generous with their wonderful server. I don’t mean to brag, but I was excellent at my job, and was able to create a relaxed atmosphere where no one saw the bottom of their drink and was often compensated quite handsomely. It made up for the fact that I barely saw my boyfriend. There were times he would open the door at home fo