A Gift for Mom! 🤍

I spend 23 hours a day thinking about my weight.

OK, that’s a bit extreme—there is sleep, so let’s just say 16 hours. I spend 16 hours each day thinking about my weight . . . or at least it feels that way.

The other day—must have been hour 17—I began to think about this: Why do I still carry with me these adolescent obsessions? Are they so ingrained in my psyche that not even decades of growth, innumerable experiences, and general intelligence can drown out the voice in my head that says I should be a size four? Curse you, marketing!

RELATED: Hey Moms, Lose the Weight

What if I actually spent the rest of my life dedicating a good portion of my thoughts and energy to my weight, my beauty, my success, and all of the other things society would have as my focus instead of things of Godly value, of richness and depth and meaning?

What if I got everything I am told I should want? What if I became everything I’m told I should be? What if we swallowed everything we’re fed?

I’m not sure we’d like the final result:

MEGHAN R. RINEY
(NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS–2077)

A memorial for Meghan R. Riney will be held at the Riney mansion on Monday at sunset. Please teleport promptly at 5 p.m. to the Riney Estates vineyard for a cocktail reception. Meghan is survived by her loving husband, Sir Kenneth Riney, Esquire, the first American citizen to be knighted, and her darling sons . . . as well as their wives who were never truly able to replace Meghan as the most important woman in their lives.

Meghan was born and raised in Dallas, but her real legacy began at age 38 when she finally lost 30 pounds. Everyone was relieved and the town folk collectively rejoiced.

The same day she became thin, she also became gloriously—and instantly—rich, which made her so much more likable. Finally able to afford Botox, her children’s hearts warmed to the mother before them devoid of forehead wrinkles. It was a dream come true for these three boys.

RELATED: Aren’t You Tired of Trying To Do it All, Mama?

Meghan found that after she lost the weight and the wrinkles, she was able to perfectly frost cupcakes so they looked like artifacts instead of food. And her children’s lunch items were cut into a plethora of figures, resembling a Little People playset. It was challenging to cut the kale, hemp seed, human growth hormone, fish oil, apple cider vinegar, chia butter sandwiches into tiny Taj Mahals, but somehow she always found a way. It was true love.

Meghan will be remembered for her clean house. The laundry was always folded and put away, and her children’s LEGOs were organized by set in their original boxes.

Meghan’s friends will miss having coffee with her in the mornings—mainly her granite countertops, natural light, plush furniture, intellectual, yet quirky coffee table books, extensive knowledge of coffee beans, and inspirational latte art.

Her husband, Kenneth, will always miss her pleasant demeanor and the way she was always supportive of every idea he ever had while also standing up for her own ideals because she was a modern woman . . . while also supporting her husband, while being her own woman, while also being a part of a team, while being independent and strong, while letting him take the lead, while secretly leading everything, while being submissive, while being a feminist.

RELATED: To the Overwhelmed Mom Who Feels Like She’s Failing

Meghan’s sons are mourning the loss of their dear mother, a woman they will always remember for her toned physique, expensive jewelry, exhausted passport, and fine-tuned wardrobe. They will miss the expensive gifts she was able to buy them, and they will never forget how much it meant to them to have perfectly styled childhood rooms.

We will all miss Meghan. In her, we have lost a shining example of everything a mother, a wife, and a woman should be.

Originally published on the author’s blog

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Meghan Riney

Meghan Riney is a Dallas-based writer and mother of three young boys. Follow her at thebeautyfilledlife.com for articles about motherhood, food, beauty, home, and more!

May is Maternal Mental Health Month, and So Many Moms Are Quietly Drowning

In: Living
Mother with baby strapped to chest

I’ve given birth to four beautiful boys and lived through four postpartum experiences. Each one has been different, yet there are familiar threads that run through them all. In the first couple of weeks after my first baby was born, I felt carefree…until that bubble was popped. My newborn got sick and was admitted to the PICU at a children’s hospital 30 minutes from our home. At one point, doctors mentioned the possibility of meningitis, but after many tests and a several-day admission, we were sent home. When we were discharged, a doctor left me with these words, “It’s your...

Keep Reading

The Hard Truth about Friendship in Your 40s

In: Friendship
Two people fishing on a dock

No one can really prepare you for how much friendships change in your 40s. We expect life shifts—kids grow, schedules fill, jobs demand more, and aging parents need us in new ways. Time becomes tighter, priorities change, and naturally, friendships have to adjust. That part makes sense, right? But what doesn’t get talked about enough is the quiet, hard shift, the one where it’s not just time or distance creating friendship gaps, but something deeper. What happens when you look around your “table” and realize it no longer feels like a safe place to land? What happens when you start...

Keep Reading

Sisterhood is So Special

In: Living
Vintage photo of sisters in pajamas

There’s something about sisterhood that’s so special. It’s having someone who’s seen every version of you—every awkward, messy, beautiful version—and loves you through it. Someone who holds a piece of your heart in a way nobody else can. Someone who remembers the little things that made you…you. And my sister? She’s that person for me. We couldn’t be more different. She’s extroverted, the life of the party, spontaneous, the more the merrier, always seeing the good in everything. I’m the cautious one, the loner, the guarded one, more comfortable sitting on the sidelines. I’ve always admired her and secretly wished...

Keep Reading

No One Plans to Wear the “Scarlet Letter” of Divorce

In: Living, Marriage
Couple with backs to each other

Divorce often feels like the scarlet letter no one talks about. Some in our generation may call it “trendy”—particularly as women have become more independent and empowered—but whether it’s socially acceptable or not, it is still a label no woman enters marriage expecting to wear. Women are often self-sacrificing—sometimes to a fault. We give and give until our souls feel nearly drained. And in marriages marked by abuse, substance abuse, infidelity, inconsistency, or dishonesty, we still convince ourselves that if we just give a little more, love a little harder, try a little longer, something will change. Divorce is not...

Keep Reading

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

In: Living, Motherhood
Hannah Harper American Idol winner sings with her young son on her lap

By now, you’ve probably seen the posts flooding your feed: A young mom. Three little boys. A guitar strap embroidered with her children’s drawings. And a crown. When Hannah Harper won American Idol this week, moms everywhere erupted. And honestly? Same. There is something collective about watching a stay-at-home mom win on such a large stage. The celebrations have been pouring in. Moms, we can do it. She didn’t abandon her dreams. She went for it. And all of that is true, and all of that is worth celebrating. But I want to add something to the celebration. Not to...

Keep Reading

To Those Who Dreamed of Something Different on Mother’s Day

In: Living
Little girl in vintage photo dancing

Mother’s Day is one of the hardest days of the year for me. The truth is, I always wanted to be a mom. I’m not a mother. Not in the traditional sense. And while I usually stay quiet on days like this, today I want to speak for the ones who carry this ache quietly…without cards, without flowers, without answers. In college, I was the girl with pillows under her shirt, daydreaming about baby names and planning a future I never got to hold. I once bought a house and made a nursery for children who never came. I remember...

Keep Reading

In Your 30s the Stakes Feel Higher

In: Living
Woman wading in shallow pond with rocks

I’m in the years where I’m not old, but I’m no longer young. Some women my age are just announcing their first pregnancies, while others like me are navigating pre-teen and teenage years. The 30s hold a different kind of tension. The days move faster now. Not because little feet are toddling through the house, but because the calendar is always full. Afternoons are spent running kids to practices, sitting in parking lots, and juggling dinner between drop-offs and pick-ups. The conversations are deeper. The questions are bigger. The stakes feel higher. This season isn’t about sticky fingers and sleepless...

Keep Reading

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off—Give Yourself Permission To Take One

In: Living
Woman looking at water

I didn’t need a sick day. I needed a well day—and I didn’t realize how much until I finally took one. We’ve labeled our time off into neat, acceptable categories. Sick days are for fevers and doctor appointments. Personal days are reserved for emergencies and obligations. But what about the in-between days? When there’s no real diagnosable health issue and no major event or appointment that needs attendance. The days when there’s nothing technically wrong, but everything feels off.  A day when you’re barely hanging on, but still showing up. That’s where the well day comes in. On behalf of...

Keep Reading

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

In: Living, Motherhood
Little girl looking in the mirror

It took me 39 years to like myself. I mean really, honestly look in the mirror and say, “You go, girl.” I understand the concept of progress, not perfection, but the idea of always working on myself became a tiring and unrelenting objective. Here I was shrinking that waist, smoothing my skin, studying hard, working way too late, and often burning the candle at both ends to yield results that were still less than the ideal. It’s all well and good to be a doer who sets reasonable and sometimes unreasonable goals, but throughout my teens and into my early...

Keep Reading

8 Truths for the Graduate Still Figuring It Out

In: Living
Teen girl sitting on grass looking at fountain

Dear Graduate, I know you’re feeling it all right now. Anticipation, trepidation, and then other times, you don’t know what to feel at all. I know because I once felt the same. I graduated from high school several years ago, and here’s what I want you to know: It’s okay if you don’t have it all figured out. Sounds cliché, but it’s true. Whether you plan to attend college, take a gap year, get a job, or you don’t know yet what you want to do, it’s okay. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. It’s so easy to fall into the...

Keep Reading