From the moment you conceive a child (or begin the process of adoption), you permanently wear an invisible sign that tells everyone you ever meet, “Give me advice, please.” Based on the amount of unsolicited advice I’ve been given over the last decade, I am assuming this invisible sign is written in super bright neon lights. I can’t be certain. As a recovering people pleaser, I have some unexplainable compulsion to listen to every single piece of advice I never asked for or wanted. Especially when I first became a mom. I may not have followed everything I was told, but I somehow let myself to feel guilty for what I chose not to follow. Though I have a million (that’s an exact number) examples that prove this is a terrible plan, one story stands out among the rest. It was the time I hugged a stranger in the Target parking lot. There are a large number of parenting styles to choose from, and it's ...
