Ossiana, I wish you could have met my mom's group because we were the ones with special needs kiddos, and there is nothing more humbling than being in that group -- no pretenses, no moralizing, little to no judgements. We were the mommies just trying to get through the day, the tantrums, the therapies, the IEPs and school meetings that most of us would cry afterwards.

Most of our kids are grown up and doing pretty well now, but those years were tough as we were in the trenches and often each other's only allies. When I look back, I realize that those women were like angels sent from the heavens to protect us from the others who judged our children with nasty, disapproving looks and snide comments.

I still meet up with three of the moms and think about what amazingly brave individuals they are.

Motherhood is absolutely isolating at times and utterly unsupported in this country. At times, it is a shitstorm of abandonment, grief, and a heaping cup of daily guilt. Trying to gloss over those facts does none of us any good.