Le Journal

In 2020, Ms. Wanda Cooper-Jones made a promise no mother should ever have to make — a vow to fight for justice for her son, no matter how long or how painful the road ahead would be. Her youngest, Ahmaud Arbery, was only 25 when he was murdered for being a Black man jogging in a suburban Georgia neighborhood.Even with a cell phone recording of the murder taking place, it would be months before anyone was even arrested. It wasn’t until 2022 that those three men would be sentenced to life in prison, plus an extra 20 years, for killing Arbery, with a federal appeals court upholding their hate-crime convictions in November 2025. In those early days after Cooper-Jones laid her son to rest, she had to try to piece together the truth of what happened. She had no way of knowing then that, once the truth came to light, her grief would transform into a mission. A mission for “Maud.” A public movement for change.Five years later, Cooper-Jones is still fighting: Not only for her son, but for the right of every young Black boy to run freely without fear. Through the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, she has built safe spaces centered on community, mental wellness, and belonging.This year, as an honoree in Adidas’ Honoring Black Excellence initiative and a feature voice in their Community Archives zine, she’s continuing to tell Arbery’s story in service of the next generation.AdidasThe sportswear brand entered Cooper-Jones’ life in the aftermath of her son’s murder, and has become a major contributor to the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation — sponsoring the foundation’s annual community run every February, and giving out $75,000 in scholarships to young men from Arbery’s high school.I had the privilege of speaking to Cooper-Jones, and in our conversation, she spoke vulnerably and openly about turning her pain into purpose, the power of community, and the legacy her son left behind.Scary Mommy: You’ve spoken about the promise you made to Ahmaud — to get justice for him, no matter how hard the journey was. What does that promise mean to you now?Ms. Wanda Cooper-Jones: It means that we really, truly got justice for Ahmaud... at the state trials, and also the federal trials. The three men responsible for taking Ahmaud away from us, they're now doing life sentences and will not be free again.I want to add that when we laid Ahmaud to rest, we were thinking that we were laying his body to rest because he went in someone's home and was committing a crime. We didn't know that Ahmaud had been chased and hunted and killed. So I really regret putting him away, apologizing for not being there when he needed me to be there.SM: Does seeing a federal appeals court uphold the hate crime convictions bring closure, or is justice something that feels more like an ongoing commitment?WCJ: Justice is an ongoing commitment because we got justice in the judicial system, but Ahmaud is never coming home again. And I'm faced with that each and every day.SM: The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation is rooted in creating safe spaces for young Black boys to run freely. When did it first become clear to you that this mission was something you were being called to do?WCJ: Shortly after Ahmaud was killed, we had some changes in legislation here in the state of Georgia, where they repealed the citizens' arrest law. Also, Governor Kemp gave us the Hate Crime Law. When those two things happened, I wanted to make change in the community, not just in laws, but in the community that we live.SM: You’re teaching boys about physical and mental wellness. Why was it important to you that mental health be part of this foundation’s work?WCJ: When I lost Ahmaud, he was having some mental challenges. To go through that episode of our lives, I was a single mom just trying to figure it out. And I wanted, in the name of Ahmaud, for any child that is going through some mental challenges, I want to be that safe place for them.SM: A mother’s love is powerful, but a mother’s grief is indescribable. What has motherhood…

Imgorthand/E+/Getty ImagesOne thing about me: I am never going to assume my kids are ever too big for anything, especially Christmas traditions. Christmas is a holiday for everyone, but more often than not, I feel like people assume tweens and teens are “too big” for a lot of Christmas fun, like baking cookies or making crafts. While a Christmas craft feels associated with preschool (maybe because those are the years you find so many of them in their bookbags), I truly think Christmas crafts get even better with tweens and teens. So for those who have big kids, please know there are tons of fun Christmas crafts to work on as a family — and you don’t have to be terrified of a toddler with scissors.Honestly, I hate the idea that anybody is “too big” for a holiday craft almost as much as I hate the idea that a craft can be “too simple” for somebody. Literally the entire world could benefit from an hour alone with some construction paper and a glue stick, and holiday crafts are always such a great family bonding moment. So don’t feel like because you have big kids you have to find a Christmas craft worthy of selling on Etsy. Sometimes the simpler, the better, and please never underestimate how soothing it can be to make a paper chain in front of The Holiday with your teen.Cute Paper OrnamentsThis fun, art-deco-looking paper craft just involves some cardstock, a glue stick, and string. It’s incredibly relaxing to make, and once you get in a groove, you and your kids can knock out a bunch all at once and have so many gorgeous, whimsical ornaments to hang on the tree. Pom Pom Tree OrnamentsI know, these look simple. But listen, sometimes simple is exactly what even the biggest kids need — and us, too, honestly. With a few craft supplies and a hot glue gun, you and your family can all make your own sweet little pom pom Christmas tree ornament. Make patterns, try different colors, add sequins — you can fully customize this happy little craft.Classic Paper SnowflakesYou just can’t go wrong with classic paper snowflakes, and this DIY makes it so your kids can do their own designs, but all of them hung up together will make for a gorgeous decoration. Grab some fishing line and hang them from the ceiling, put them in windows, let them decorate their bedrooms — so many options.DIY Christmas CardsI absolutely love Christmas cards, but I don’t love how impersonal a mass mailing of family photos feels. If your kids really want to do something crafty and sweet, have them make Christmas cards. They can make them for each other, for family, to mail off to friends, deliver to teachers — so many sweet options.Pinecone Christmas TreesI truly can’t think of a much sweeter tablescape than a whole bunch of these adorable pinecone Christmas trees. Your big kids (and even little kids) can handle this craft on their own, and you can let them pour their little creative selves into it and show off their personalities. I love the idea of pulling them out each year, remembering who loved the color purple so much or which kid decided to use all the black pom poms because they felt bad for them left in the bag.Paint By Number KitGalison Christmas Square Paint by Numbers KitAmazon - Let everyone pick out their own paint by number kit and then you have a whole Christmas gallery to hang up. I am obsessed with the Galison painting kits, and the art that you end up with is something you actually want to hang on your wall or shelves.Finger-Knitted Christmas BowsFinger-knitting is such a fun hobby that requires minimal materials and minimal fear. Sit next to your teen on the couch, grab some yarn, and together you can each make a gorgeous, cozy-looking Christmas bows to put up year after year. Add these to garland, to your tree, your banisters — anywhere that needs a little extra holiday cheer.Felt Chain GarlandDon’t sleep on the festive cozy look of paper chains, but if you want something a little more elevated, you and your kids can work on this felt chain garland.…

Welcome to Ask A MWLTF (Yes, that’s Mother Who Likes to F*ck.), a monthly anonymous advice column from Scary Mommy. Here we’ll dissect all your burning questions about motherhood, sex, romance, intimacy, and friendship with the help of our columnist, Penelope, a writer and mental health practitioner in training. She’ll dish out her most sound advice for parents on the delicate dance of raising kids without sacrificing other important relationships. Email her at askpenelope@scarymommy.com.Dear MWLF, My partner and I spend Thanksgiving surrounded by family, chaos, and casseroles. By the time we crawl into bed post-holiday weekend, I feel more like his sister than his lover. Why does being overwhelmed around family completely kill our intimacy, and is there a way to get it back before New Year’s?Dear Overwhelmed,There is nothing like a holiday with extended family to turn the sexiest couple into two camp counselors supervising meal prep, emotional outbursts, and whatever conflict arises when somebody’s aunt or uncle decides to share their thoughts on the state of the world. You’re not imagining it: nothing shuts down erotic energy faster than slipping back into your childhood role the moment your mother asks where the good napkins are.Holidays tend to meld us back into the undifferentiated soup of our family of origin’s particular flavor of dysfunction. Everyone unconsciously becomes a slightly younger, slightly needier version of themselves. You might feel like the competent oldest daughter again. He might start behaving like the “good son” who fetches folding chairs. This dynamic is great for making sure dinner gets on the table, but terrible for maintaining the erotic charge between you.And then there’s the nonstop togetherness — but the wrong kind. You’re surrounded by people all day, but none of the interactions are intimate. They’re logistical: Did you baste the turkey? Who’s carving? I can’t believe we forgot the cranberries. When your nervous system gets overloaded by noise, obligation, and social performance, your libido goes into hibernation mode. It says, “Please, for the love of God, close the door and don’t touch me.”So what can you do? First, don’t panic. A holiday intimacy dip doesn’t mean the spark is gone. It doesn’t have to mean anything other than…it’s the holidays.Second, carve out even a tiny moment of adult-only connection. Even just a five-minute walk outside, a shared smile across the table, or touching his lower back in the kitchen can help you shift back into partner mode rather than sibling mode.Third, debrief the chaos together once you’re alone. It sounds simple, but laughing with your partner about who said what, who drank too much, who passive-aggressively commented on who’s new haircut or who’s new tattoo. Affection grows in the space where you feel like you and your partner are on the same side of the madness. Here’s another metaphor that might be helpful. When you and your partner are hosting the holidays together, or even attending a big family function around the holidays, you’re going to war together. Have a battle plan. Have an emergency rescue plan if one of you wanders too deep into enemy territory. If all else fails, devise a drinking game or make a friendly wager related to how many times your mother-in-law will make a passive-aggressive jab about the clutter in your pantry.Finally, when you retreat from battle, approach each other with gratitude that you don’t have to fight this war alone. Nothing builds intimacy like gratitude and appreciation.In short: family temporarily kills intimacy because it drags you both out of your relationship and into old roles you never consciously signed up to reenact. But the spark isn’t gone. It’s just waiting for the house to clear out and for the two of you to remember that — thank god — you’re not related.

MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images/MediaNews Group/Getty ImagesMy kid takes the bus, so I was completely flabbergasted to learn from friends that sometime between the time we were in school in the 1980s and 90s and when our kids are in school today, pick-up and drop-off lines have become complete nightmares. In fact, some parents report waiting literal hours to collect their children. The issue can be hard to understand — like, how big or disorganized does a school have to be for pick-up to be that slow and/or chaotic? Over on Reddit/Parenting one mom wanted other parents to explain, “just for fun” what the deal with long pick-up lines is, exactly. “I see so many posts about how parents have to line up for the school pickup line 1-2 hours before school is even out due to the line just taking forever,” she writes. “I am so curious on how many kids attend your school where that is an issue? Our school has no buses and so kids either have to walk/bike/parent pickup and our pickup line is finished within 20 minutes of school getting out. For reference, our school has 300-400 kids.”Well... people have feelings about pick-up lines and they did not hold back in the comments. Some parents ranted about how idiotic it is to go early and wait, while others defended showing up so early by explaining their strategies and schedules. It got heated very fast. “All these idiots go park in line at the school every day,” writes one dad. “The line starts forming easily two hours before school lets out. I have no fucking idea why they do this. If you wait and show up about 10-15 minutes after school lets out, then you're in and out in less than 10 minutes. My kid can wait outside for a couple of minutes instead of having me or my wife sit there idling a car burning fuel for 2 damned hours. People are crazy.” Many people agreed with this comment, adding that the lines mess up traffic in the area and smog up the air. But others explained that a lot of parents aren’t there by choice. A lot of parents cited after school activities, work schedules, and having to pick up multiple kids at different schools. A few parents explained that younger kids nap in the car while they wait. A number of parents explained that sitting in their car and answering emails or reading a book was way better than the chaos of not showing up early. “I’m an early one and there’s a few reasons why,” one person wrote. “First, the line is chaotic and nobody seems to know wtf is going on. This has been the case across multiple schools, so I know the problem isn’t just a bad pickup layout. I’m talking parking lot accidents, people screaming at each other and honking — pure chaos. But second, I end up trapped and it causes me a lot of anxiety. It sucks having to be there so early and wait in my car for so long and it pisses me off to no end that nobody has figured out a better way yet. If I’m first in line, I get my kid and get home within 15 min of school letting out. If I’m late to the line, that turns into almost 45 minutes from school out to home.” One parent said that as soon as a local sheriff started ticketing people for idling in front of the school, the problem was solved. “My county's sheriffs finally started ticketing people for it this year,” they wrote. “They sent out tons of warnings and advance notice for months beforehand that it would be happening and yet people still got outraged when they actually started doing it. Everyone got pissed off that they were getting fined for being ‘stuck in a traffic jam.’ Within a few days that traffic jam, which has been clogging both lanes of the main road in town and blocking side streets for 20 years at least, suddenly cleared up.”Other parents pointed out that poor planning is the reason for many delays. Many schools don’t have buses or have limited bus lines, but they also don’t have adequate parking in the area to handle large pick-ups. “I think the issue is so many places have built their schools along highways…