Kelly Niebergall
Kelly is a native Californian and has lived up and down the coast, from Santa Cruz to San Francisco to San Diego and has now made her permanent home in Newbury Park. She has a masters in creative writing from San Francisco State University and finds solace and strength in writing about the vulnerability of being a mother. When not writing, she enjoys hiking, gardening, reading and all things cheese--especially a good blue or cheddar. She is married to an amazingly supportive husband and is a stay at home mom to her two wild daughters.
To My Mom Friends Who Move Away
Every time you leave, I am always sad to see you go. It is difficult to see a mom friend leave.
Mom Friends
It is a chest-swelling sadness. Complicated and deep. We became friends because our...
25 Journal Prompts for Mothers
Before the label of motherhood became attached to the foundation of my skin, I was first a writer.
Journaling
More specifically, I wrote in my journal. I bled through my pen during the points of my...
October is National Adopt-a-Dog Month
I don’t know what I’d do without my dog.
Cliché, but it’s true.
She’s a loveable klutz. Her energy level rivals that of my children. She barks and sheds, licks and wags her tail so hard...
Why I Garden With (but Mostly Without) My Kids
Just yesterday, I put my hands into the soft earth and planted a new bright pink geranium. The morning sun peeked out through animal-shaped clouds and I was alone. My mind let go of...
To the Teachers: I See You
I See You
I see you taking my daughter for six and a half hours a day inside the four walls of a classroom covered in each child’s colorful, miraculous art. It is a room...
Parenting: The Hardest Job You’ll Ever Love
At the end of every day, usually over a dinner I quickly scramble together, my husband and I ask our two girls: “What was the hardest part of your day? What was the best...
A Room of a Mother’s Own
"Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind." -- Virginia Woolf
As mothers, we are often seen...
Why I Like Missing My Kids
As the country opens up and embraces humanity again with open arms, it has been centering to see friends and family whom I haven’t seen in over a year now that I’m vaccinated.
I watch...
A Generation Between: Caring for Our Kids and Parents
In times like these, I am a generation between. I am caring for my kids and my parents.
Two Generations
I hold the hands of my daughters, so tiny and smooth. There are no wrinkles, no...
I Am a Good Enough Mother
I am Messy Hair
My daughters' and my hair on some days when I can’t find the right brush. The one with a cartoon picture of Belle and her pink rose on the back. It...