Hey, I’m Ashton. ♡

A wife. A mom. A reader. A recovering people-pleaser. And a woman who’s still figuring a whole lot of things out.

Welcome to The Things We Don’t Admit.

I’ve spent a good portion of my life believing I needed to have everything figured out. Fix the problem. Keep the peace. Make everybody happy. Say the right thing. Do the right thing. And if something hurt? Well, surely there was a way to fix that, too. Spoiler alert: there isn’t always. I’m a mom who sometimes needs a break, a wife who doesn’t always get it right, a Christian whose faith is still growing, and an overthinker who can turn one awkward conversation into a full-blown investigation before lunchtime.

Through motherhood, relationships, grief, and a whole lot of personal growth, I’ve learned that forgiveness doesn’t always mean reconciliation, boundaries aren’t punishments, and healing isn’t nearly as pretty as people make it look. I’ve also realized how many of us walk around carrying feelings we’re convinced we’re not supposed to have. Resentment, jealousy, anxiety, anger, guilt, and even complicated feelings about the people we love most. We experience these emotions, but somewhere along the way, we learned to be ashamed of admitting them.

Why The Things We Don’t Admit?

Because I don’t believe having an uncomfortable emotion makes you a bad person. I believe it makes you human. I created this space for the thoughts we edit out of conversations, the feelings we try to justify, and the experiences we convince ourselves nobody else could possibly understand. Here, you’ll find honest reflections on motherhood, relationships, forgiveness, faith, grief, personal growth, and the occasional ridiculous moment that reminds me not to take myself quite so seriously.

I’m not a therapist, an expert, or someone who has all the answers. I’m simply a woman learning as she goes, sharing the lessons, mistakes, and uncomfortable realizations along the way. Sometimes I’ll get things wrong, change my perspective, or realize that something I believed for years wasn’t serving me anymore. And that’s okay. Growth isn’t about having everything figured out; it’s about being willing to look inward, challenge ourselves, and do things differently.

A little honesty goes a long way.

My hope is that somewhere in these pages, you’ll recognize a little bit of yourself. Maybe you’ll laugh, maybe you’ll cry, or maybe you’ll read something and think, Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was the only one. Because the goal here isn’t to make our lives look perfect. It’s to make being human feel a little less lonely.

So come as you are. Even the messy parts.

I’m glad you’re here.

With love and a little grace,

Ashton ♡