Honestly, I didn’t struggle with fear or anxiety before becoming a mom. Fear simply wasn’t a stronghold for me. However, it is amazing how much fear and anxiety motherhood brings. You know, the kind that keeps you awake at night or weasels into your head while driving or assaults your mind when you should be…
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The future has been on my heart recently. I struggle with answering this question because fear has a grip on me, and I have been feeling very scattered. As I get older, mortality consumes my thoughts. My parents are aging, and I simply can’t imagine life without them. But, as the saying goes, the only…
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My dad lived a lie for a long time. Whether rooted in pride, shame, jealousy, etc., lies are like weeds. They are first and foremost ugly; and, if not dealt with, they grow, spread, and choke out life. For me personally, a powerfully painful lie choked and ended my mom and dad’s marriage and damaged…
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My niece lived with me for a year; when she arrived, she was lost and lacked direction. I encouraged her to try new things, helped her learn the value of a dollar, and engaged in real conversations with her. When she left my home, she was an unstoppable force going after her dreams, and I…
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One of my favorite life stories is when we found my dad’s biological mom. My biological grandma found out she was pregnant when she was 16. Rather than sending her away, her father hid her in the house and flatly informed her the baby would be put up for adoption. After enduring sneers and condescending…
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When I was younger, my parents felt led to move our family across the globe. While their intentions were good, it was a difficult, molding experience. I had a hard time adjusting. I missed home. And, learning an entirely new culture – especially during those tween years – was tough. To add insult to injury,…
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My mom died last year, and it is the strangest thing to not be able to pick up the phone and call her. You don’t realize how much you take for granted; I miss the sound of her voice. I am a completely different person since her passing, and I recently had an epiphany: there…
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I’ve always been looking for Mayberry.” When asked why, she responded, “I pretty much grew up in the ghetto. My mom was single, and our budget afforded us a small apartment in a crappy area. While I couldn’t change the family I was born into, I always wished I came from a ‘normal’ family, the…
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The adverb, just, is a powerfully diminishing word. Think, “I am just a ____.” The word stretches back to the 1400s, meaning, “exactly, precisely, punctually,” and morphed to mean “merely, barely” in the 1660s. When someone listens to the wrong voice, using ‘just’ to modify his or her identity, it reverberates in the mind, and…
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Another school year has come to a close. School buses will no longer add time to morning commutes, the laughs and screams of elementary school children during recess silence, and retail stores and restaurants will be staffed with young students on summer break. For many, this time of year also includes commencement ceremonies and graduation…
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