Oh, Casey.
The hateful comments are unnecessary and cruel.

Your daughter will one day read your words…she’ll read about how much you love her and she’ll read about the times in which you struggled. And that will empower her.

It is your imperfections that will provide her the space in which to breathe…to struggle…to feel human.

You’re doing a remarkable job. There is beauty and power in honesty. xo

I love that you give voice to the ugly. because I live the ugly too. And when you have hope and joy following your ugly, you give me hope.

Addie will know. She is living with you and loving you.

I also would have LOVED to have the “inside” of my mom from when I was growing up. I write about my depression and my hard time with Eddie because I want him to know how hard it is for me to feel so awful when I love him so much.

Do I wish motherhood was all rainbows and unicorns? Maybe. But the hard makes the lovely so much more powerfully beautiful.

Rock on with your bad self, Casey.

My mom made it look easy, when I look back on it. Yet she struggled, I know that now, and I think it’s ok to let kids know that. If everyone was a little more open about the bad parts AND the good parts (not just in blogging but in real life,) it might not be so difficult for people to reach out for help when they need it.

My kids aren’t perfect, and neither am I, but sharing those moments doesn’t negate one tiny bit of the love we have for each other.

I am VERY pro-blogging when it comes to stress. A blog is a person that simply listens and that is something you rarely get out of a human being. One downside I have unfortunately recognized is that blogging can sometimes make a struggle seem much bigger than it is. I may be overwhelmed one day and write about a particularly difficult day with my son and feel as though he is slightly more difficult than most children (I consider him “high needs”) but I often step back and say… I spent 15 minutes devoting my life to writing about my difficulties today. Will this day seem more difficult because I spent that time really concentrating and writing about how difficult it was? Would I have simply dismissed it as any other ordinary day had I not written about it? Does writing about it make it too big of a deal than it should have been?

My own mother struggled with undiagnosed postpartum depression for about 5 years and DO wish she had written about, especially since I have struggled with perinatal mood disorders.

I love your honesty. Parenting is very, VERY “stupid hard”. Sometimes all I see from other moms is how awesome, amazing and wonderful their children are and how they cook and bake and clean all day and live in this stress-free world. Which, we all know, is probably a lie or cover up. But either way, it makes me feel isolated. I struggle at parenting. I wanted a baby for 7 very long years, and after fertility treatment and a miracle from God, I became a mom. That was the easy part. The hard part is raising them. I am thankful for moms like you who write the truth and make me feel like I’m not so alone.

Casey,
Your response to this criticism was undeniably the most mature and honest thing you could have said. You could have just deleted it but you went on and posted about why you are so brutally honest in your blog. You have inspired so many of us to step out of the darkness of depression, and to move toward a more therapeutic lifestyle of blogging! I would have loved to have a blog or journal of my mother’s to read. I’m sure it would have helped me in my parenting skills. What I think is the most remarkable about telling us all your family’s stories and struggles is that your children can learn from not only you but other readers. Just think of how proud your girls will be when they read the thousands of posts from complete strangers thanking you for helping them when they were at their wit’s end. I applaud you.