Our Summer 2024 Challenge Winner, Kirsten!

CONGRATS, KIRSTEN! 

I was widowed about two years ago. I was six months postpartum with our second child when this happened. Postpartum recovery, grief, and instantly becoming a single parent to two young children is a hard combination. I was my last priority. I didn’t sleep well, ate just enough to maintain my milk supply for our daughter (because grief caused me to lose my appetite), and due to the stress and an antidepressant I had to go on to get through, my weight fluctuated a lot.

This year, I decided that the best way I can show up for our children now is to take care of their Mom. To make sure that their remaining parent is healthy and able to not only keep up with them, but to protect them. This is the first step in that journey (I have a long way to go), but it’s been empowering. To see the physical changes has been good, but the mental changes have been monumental for me. 

I can do this. I can be there for my kids. I can push through everything that’s happened and come out stronger. Thank you CSE for helping me feel empowered and *not alone* in this new chapter.