Joanna Schroeder

And then reality kicks in and you think, “What happened to us?” Where once there were fireworks are now phone calls about broken appliances and picking up diapers. But these changes aren’t necessarily bad. Sometimes things change dramatically and you realize how amazingly better your relationship is now, all these years later.

I first saw shame take over my son’s face in a somewhat unexpected place: the toy aisle at Target.

What is this body? I wonder lately as I look in the mirror. Despite the fact that I’ve had this body shape for years now, it feels unfamiliar. I feel like it doesn’t reflect who I really am. But what body would reflect that?

People try to keep it real by talking about the struggles of being a parent, and that’s great, but the truth is this: Parenting can be great fun.

As I grew older, I came to rely upon dieting as a way to ease my anxiety and feel in control. I was no longer in a cycle of eating too little or body dysmorphia, but controlling my food intake made me feel less invisible in a sea of girls where I felt like I'd disappear. It was almost a form of self-medication, to know that I could go on a diet and lose a few pounds.

If we as women get to define for ourselves what beauty looks like, then the power will no longer rest with those who pad their fortunes with our self-loathing.

This holiday film tells men it's OK to be emotional and vulnerable.

Much of my life has been ruled by fears I didn’t want to face. Now that I'm older and have been battling them, I feel an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders. I only wish I'd been able to shrug off these societal pressures years ago

There are a lot of women out there right now who think yoga pants are great everyday wear, even when they’re not working out. There are probably also just as many people who think that women wear yoga pants entirely too much, and that they're inappropriate.

I’m spelling them out here so that other parents can talk about them and other boys can see that there isn’t just one way to become a good man.