This week brought more than just dinner—it brought cake, co-parenting logistics, a dash of self-discovery, and a whole lot of reflecting.

🎂 A Birthday and a First Post-Divorce Milestone

My son turned 17 this week. Seventeen! April 15th: Tax Day, yes, but also his birthday. It was our first round of birthdays since the divorce, and if you’ve been through that, you know: these moments hit differently. Our parenting plan says the parent who doesn’t have the child on their actual birthday gets two hours in the evening. So his dad was scheduled to take him after school.

Except… plans changed. More than once. And while I couldn’t control that, I could make sure my son felt celebrated. So we started the morning with a fun birthday breakfast, I packed birthday cake Oreos in his lunch, and I surprised him with a treat in the car after school. Then he went off for dinner with his dad, which only lasted 45 minutes, before returning home for a little cake and ice cream party with me and his sister and his dad.

Co-parenting through birthdays is a wild ride. But this one, despite its bumps, turned out okay. We all got to celebrate him and that’s what mattered most.

💸 A New Chapter: Filing Taxes Solo

This year also marked another milestone: I filed my taxes early. Like, April 5th early. It might seem small, but filing on time and making that choice myself was a moment of independence. One more reminder that I’m building a life I get to shape, no longer reacting to other people’s decisions.

👯‍♀️ Time With Friends And Letting Go a Little

Another first? Letting my kids stay home while I spent the day with a friend. I’ve been hesitant, especially with my son’s history of seizures. But he’s been seizure-free for over two years, and is 17-years-old, I gave it a shot. It also helps that his super mature almost 14 sister is home too. I left them with emergency contacts and a solid plan. Everything was great! They remembered to do their chores and eat meals. Solid parenting win.

My friend and I didn’t do anything fancy: we ran errands, ate lunch, and just talked. It felt so good to be me for a day, not just “Mom.” Research from the Cleveland Clinic backs this up: adult friendships help reduce stress and increase happiness: two things every mom deserves more of.

👟 Running Toward Myself

After months of feeling off track, I’m finally running again. A Saturday morning running buddy helps keep me motivated, and it’s been a huge mood-booster. According to Harvard Health, regular exercise improves not just physical health but emotional regulation and memory, so yes, this counts as parenting prep!

🍽️ Dinner Recap (And Why It Still Matters)

We managed three dinners together this week Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Thursdays are tricky with dance, so we ate early at 5:00 p.m. My goal of elevated, creative meals might not be winning any awards (hello, tacos…again), but every meal had a veggie and a side of connection.

My son is still resistant. He asks to leave the table constantly. But I’m not giving in. We sit. We talk. And sometimes, like Thursday, it clicks. The conversation flows. Everyone laughs. It’s not always easy but it’s always worth it.

📚 Why These Dinners Matter (Science Agrees!)

A study from Columbia University found that kids who eat regular family dinners are more likely to do well in school and less likely to engage in risky behavior. But here’s the part that gets me as a mom: connection isn’t built during crises: it’s built in the quiet, consistent moments. Over tacos. During dance-class rushes. In the eye-rolls and conversations.

We’re not just having dinner. We’re building something bigger something that will hold us up in the hard times.

So here’s to Week 14. To awkward dinners and Oreos in lunchboxes. To self-care and showing up. To being the kind of parent who’s also a person. And to believing that every shared meal:

 no matter how imperfect

Matters.

#100Dinners #MillennialMomLife #CoParenting #FamilyConnection #DinnerTableTalks