Allison Cooper

Dear Oldest Son, Life these days is all about dividing and conquering. I feel more and more like I’m dividing and conquering so many things.

... there is no joy in the season when mom is locking herself in the bathroom to pull her hair out — don’t let that be you!

I've noticed that some moms include some pretty wild descriptors on their Twitter profiles. While some are out-there and some are just plain boring, reading them has left me scratching my head, wondering that they would waste their 140 characters on these terms.

We live in a world where people are easily influenced. Heck, I'm a writer and influencer for a living, so I get this in its most extreme state. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty — the big life decisions — I want my son to have a strong head on his shoulders and do what he instinctively knows is right for him.

Then all of a sudden he stopped and muttered the words, “Nevermind mom, you don’t understand. You’re not a gamer.” That stopped me in my tracks.

I know these kids need both parents in their lives to learn to grow to be successful human adults, but some days, I’d like to be remembered as the fun parent.

Being millennials, we seem to have a creative spirit and entrepreneurial drive to do things on our own. Whether it’s the people you're working with or the big ideas that are brewing in the back of your mind, if you are feeling the “start your own business itch,” then it’s time to scratch it — even if you only work on the weekends until you get things up and running. Believe it or not, there are some easy ways to start your own business and get things moving in the right direction for yourself.

There are days when you look in the mirror at yourself, nights when you looks at your husband, and moments when you squeeze your son that you wonder if you have anything left to give. You have given so much to being a mom that there are moments when you lose sight of it all. Don’t lose sight of me, the person that you were before and the things that made your happy. Don’t let me disappear.

10. 15 minutes alone in the grocery store has become your equivalent to a therapy session.

Who better to design something so avant-garde than an artist who exhibited their very first pieces of artwork next to Keith Haring and Basquiat?