For many women, the decision to tell people that they’re having trouble getting pregnant is a challenging and brave one. As I learned the hard way, the ensuing conversations are so often fraught with peril – pet theories, unsolicited advice, the disappointment of loved ones – that it often seems less painful to keep the feelings to ourselves or to our partners (who are also emotionally drained and often even more reluctant to share their feelings). But instead of isolation, there can be another option: support. From you. It sounds easy, right? So why does it backfire? And what can you do?

Finished products sure do get a lot of attention, right? We’re not usually attending art shows of half-completed paintings or reading published work that stops midsentence. We don’t hear songs on the radio that trail off after the first verse, the vocalist pausing to say, “There’s going to be a rockin’ chorus here!” Finished products are fabulous and have an energy all their own – but man, do I dig the process. I absolutely love talking to artists about the journey – how they do what they do. That sculpture is beautiful, but how the heck did you get to that from a clump of clay?

Babies take a lot of time and money.

I know, that’s a news flash, right? But I really had no idea that an infant business would take so much of my time and money when I started.

My whole life I’ve been a care provider and never received a bit of business education. Over the last year I’ve spent a lot of time and money giving myself that education.

When I started my business, my husband and I looked at our savings and decided that I could use $5K of it to launch my business. When that was gone, the business would either be profitable or I would give it up.

Something happened a month or so ago that pissed me off. At first, I tried to shove it down. I talked myself out of getting upset, reminded myself that people like me more when I’m easy going, and kept my cool, even when I had steam coming out of my ears. My efforts to keep my righteous indignation under wraps worked for a few days. Then Victoria Rochester took over, and all hell broke loose.