Since I started my adventure in motherhood back in 2010, I've always had a goal to keep things "strong" -- physically, emotionally and mentally.

Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of mommy-meltdowns, but I remember admiring how strong my own mom was raising my sister and me.

According to a recent study, the most stressful number of kids to have is three.

Do I look the same?

Does the cafeteria still exude that overcooked broccoli stink?

Will my first boyfriend be there with his wife?

How strange will it feel to walk those fluorescent hallways again, older, wiser, far stronger now?

I was born and raised in Minnesota. My husband is from Wisconsin. We're raising our seven-year-old son in Los Angeles and trying hard to instill in him the values we grew up with.

Story telling is a precious and invaluable way of holding on to your history and never forgetting. It’s a way to create memories that can last a lifetime.

In 2012 the National Association of Mothers’ Centers asked me to write a letter to my children in recognition of Mother’s Day, as a way to impart to the world what wisdom I would like to pass on to them. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever written, by far, especially since it is only 650 words or so.

The whole country has been transfixed by the events that happened in Boston. The tragedy has stirred up a lot of feelings in my family and provoked many questions from my younger children.

Living in the era of constant connectedness can mean bearing the burden of grief and sorrow for those that are suffering in far reaching corners of the world. That burden is amplified when those horrors strike home.

The following is a guest post from Andrew Taylor, Partner in the Family Law Practice at Weber Gallagher