When I was in elementary school, I got an invite for a friend’s birthday party. I should have been excited about the invite, and I was, but I was nervous too. The party was going to be a sleepover. I remember worrying that my friends would figure out my deep, dark secret. I was scared … More Scared of the dark
When we brought our daughter home from the hospital as a newborn, her skin was a yellowed jaundice color and she had problems keeping anything down. Infant jaundice usually occurs because a baby’s liver isn’t mature enough to get rid of bilirubin, a yellow pigment of red blood cells, in the bloodstream. The doctor told … More Collecting seashells
I’m not looking forward to the drive. It’s a long one. We’ll be on the road for four to five hours. I wouldn’t call it dread, but I’m not jumping for joy either. My son, though, has been counting down the days. In a week and a half, my wife and I will be driving … More A different kind of joy
I was driving in my car today and caught myself thinking fondly of my ex. We’ve been broken up for one year and seven months now. And in that moment, I realized that I have only ever truly loved two men. Both of these men were long-term partners and in both relationships we lived together for a time. When you live with someone and share your life with a person for several years, you see everything about each other, no matter how well you try to hide things. And as I was thinking about my ex today, I was just remembering all of the good, all of the things I truly loved about him. In that moment, I also realized that all of the negative thoughts I’ve carried since the breakup, all of the things that were said and not said during our parting, just faded into the distance. And now, only love remains. … More After Time, Only Love Remains
I walk carefully along the river’s edge, careful to watch my step. The water is crisp, clear and fast-moving. If I fell in, I’m pretty sure I’d be a quarter mile upstream before I knew it. I follow a path to two big rocks looking out over the river. I take a break and sit … More Casting another line
I need to be real here. Our topic of self-care this month is a tough one for me. There are the standard categories that define self-care and all are widely published online. If you are a list person, and like clear definitions blogger Erin was kind enough to write The Seven Pillars of Self Care … More Knowing, and Loving Oneself is the Ultimate Form of Self-Care
I hate to deliver such tough love wisdom, but I do believe that often times, pain is our best teacher. Because most of us as human beings don’t like to experience pain. We want to expedite the process of moving through and/or eliminating our pain as fast as we possibly can. Because it feels uncomfortable and miserable when we’re in it, right? And because of this, I think us wise ones choose to make the best of our pain, move through it in some kind of efficient way, and see what we can learn from it. The rest of us (of course I do this too) often just try to ignore it in the hopes that it goes away. However, that often leads to tumors and other ailments in our body, so I don’t recommend this method. … More How Do We Fill Up Our Cups When We’re Empty?
Yes…I Talk to Myself. Often. We’re focusing on ‘self-care’ this month and as I thought about this week’s post, I realized most of what I needed to learn on the topic has already been drilled into me, one way or another. The troublesome part? Stickiness. Self-care efforts need to become habit-forming in order to pay … More Love Me List
Most of us are taught to live our lives by taking lots of action, making things happen, choosing and moving and doing. And yes, that’s a massive part of the way life works, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, have you ever experienced times in your life when things were so clearly out of your control, and it was very obvious that things were happening “to you,” despite your input or participation? … More Old Doors Are Closing But New Ones Have Not Yet Opened
I like to go back and read the 25-page report. The report is dated from the early 2000s and gives a medical history on my son and lists the tests the doctors administered. I’m barely a page into the report and my heart is already breaking. “The patient is still fairly young and needs intensive … More Proving the experts wrong!
The Heart of the Matter 