The origin story of this blog follows the same trajectory as most of my major life decisions: a minor incident triggers a mid-level panic attack, which then sets me on a frantic 17-hour Internet search for solutions, followed by a selection of the most unrealistic but potentially lucrative choice. I will then very excitedly share my decision with a friend, who will very predictably talk me off a ledge, because no good decisions are made after a frantic 17-hour Internet search.

In this case, my frantic 17-hour Internet search was set off by, of all things, tariffs. My husband had casually mentioned one day an article he’d read about people stockpiling food because they were worried about tariffs impacting grocery prices. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and then suddenly, three days later, I started thinking about it, which naturally sent me into a tailspin about having a stockpile of food, which then sent me into a tailspin about having extra savings just in case. (In case of what? Who knows. I didn’t say this trajectory was logical).

The particular Internet search resulting from this tailspin was “Side Hustles You Can Do From Home.” After rejecting options that required technical skills (what is coding, exactly?), had me making phone calls (absolutely not), and weren’t actually doable from home (one of the suggestions was “Drive for Lyft”), I finally saw it:

“Got a flair for creative writing? Got a lot of knowledge about a specific subject? Try WRITING A BOOK!

Yes, of course, I’m going to write a book! I’m going to write a book about parenting, because that’s what it seems like I do all the live long day.

Ok, but my kids had Dino nuggets and concepts of carrots for dinner last night. I’m not exactly doing parenting well.

I’M GOING TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT PARENTING POORLY! Unrealistic, but potentially lucrative. Perfect.

Excitedly, I text a friend who is very supportive and then very kindly brings me back to reality.

So here we are. Very tired moms in teaching, HR, accounting, homemaking, science, music, and medicine, sharing our trials and tribulations. We will grace you with stories about balancing sick kids with demanding work schedules, family obligations with personal lives. There will be pleas for dinner suggestions, and pictures of red spots on our kids’ face, wondering if it’s a rash or strawberries. We will be asking for advice, such as “how long can a child survive on air and yogurt alone?”, “If I am 41 and finish this bottle of wine, how long will my hangover last?”, and “how long will it take to get rich writing a blog about parenting poorly?”

We love our families, our friends, our jobs, our lives, and we are doing it all. Poorly.