Nothing hurts your mom heart more than watching one of your babies go through something you can’t instantly fix. When you hear the tears in their voice or see it in their eyes — you just know they aren’t okay, but you can’t “fix it.”
Middle school sucks.
It’s the years where everyone is trying to figure themselves out. Some sooner than others. Friendships change daily, styles evolve overnight, and what’s “cool” shifts depending on who says it loudest.
Unless you’re one of my kids — confident in who you are, wearing what makes you happy, doing what you enjoy — middle school isn’t easy. You don’t always fit into a group, and that can make you an easy target for isolation.
Kids at this age are often the product of the environments they’re raised in — sometimes by parents still chasing their own sense of belonging, hoping no one digs up their buried secrets. They try to relive their younger years through their children, spoiling them- buying unnecessary things, giving in to demands, or allowing behaviors they used to stand against. All in hopes that their child has a shot at being “popular” or “cool.” And somehow in all of it, kindness, humility, and empathy start to feel like lost values.
I remind my children often: no matter what, they are beautiful, kind, talented, smart, creative, and strong — and they already know who they are. They have something no one else does.
One day, when those same classmates are fighting through their own rough patches — changing friends weekly, sitting at different lunch tables, chasing attention to feel seen or hiding in the bathroom to cry because of whispers heard— my child will stand solid in who they are.
And when that happens, I’ll know this heartbreak was worth something.
Because my children can say “my mom was right: middle school sucked” And they won’t be having to waste time or tears on the gossip, rumors, or whispers in the halls or lunch room, those fake friends won’t matter, the shifting tables — they’ll all fade. What will last is the ability to stand tall, to be grounded, and to stay true to who they are.
Never having to pretend. Never needing to tear someone down to feel enough.
Hearing my home echo with their laughter will forever be my favorite sound, even though middle school sucks— we’re surviving it. And we’re doing it together.🤍