It is disheartening that the current climate often makes us step back when we instinctively want to step in. We are quick to judge, slow to include and wary of strangers in need.

I can deny it all I want but the frightening fact is that one day my four children will be teenagers.

She won’t have to go through what I have been through for the very reason that I have already been through it. I have survived it and come out the other side.

I’m entering unchartered waters, and for the first time I won’t be able to think back of my own mom and what she did for me when I was his age.

This month, my family and I are taking an epic journey—in an RV. We’ll put ourselves and our kids – who aren’t exactly clamoring to spend more time with us – and a limited amount of belongings inside a 25-foot vehicle for the next four weeks.

That moment when you tell a child YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and in doing so, realize that you are not alone.

“OK, Mom. I trust you. We can do this.”

Who you are and the qualities you possess will take anywhere you want to go.

“I hope by the time I’m your age I have found my confidence.”

In a way, these gestures imply that the crying needs to hurry up and stop. What happens when this is communicated to kids and teens when they cry?