On Grief, Growth, and Calico Critters

I put it off for as long as I possibly could—the slimming down and organization of our fourth bedroom. We established it as the playroom when we moved in with our little girls six years ago, but I was finally accepting that, at ages 15 and 12, they were doing far less playing than ever…

Read More

Daring Life of Exploration

As I navigate the deep end of the pool, each stroke propelling me forward, I can’t help but draw a parallel to life’s journey. It’s a constant balancing act of letting go, surrendering to the unknown depths, while also setting boundaries to protect my own well-being and navigate the currents with wisdom and resilience.  Amidst…

Read More

Fight Like A Girl

My husband was diagnosed with acute kidney disease with renal failure in 2012.  At that time, he was driving a truck making 10-day trips from Texas to New Mexico and I often accompanied him. On April 1, 2012, I started my period. I had been dealing with “the change” for ten years, which included horrible,…

Read More

Embracing the New Normal

I love this time of year!! I love the season of celebration that comes with Christmas and the New Year, the music, worship, family time and friends. All of this welcomed with joy in our hearts always, and especially now, as I am more aware of the precious gift of time. And yet, the holidays…

Read More

Bar Joke

“Find what you love and let it kill you.” – Charles Bukowski Three nurses and a radiology resident walk into a bar. They are young, single, female military officers who gather on weekends to drink cheap wine, eat overpriced sushi, and commiserate about their love lives (or lack thereof). Picture a scene from Grey’s Anatomy…

Read More

The New Dance of Motherhood

I stood there baffled as two blue lines appeared on the Walgreens pregnancy test. I struggled to find words as I called Chris into the bathroom. About eight pregnancy tests later, I poured out my beer, over ate pizza and spent the night on the couch. To my disbelief we were now a party of…

Read More

Stitched Together in Love

I remember helping my mom pack up my childhood home. I was twenty-four and pregnant with my first daughter. That feels important to mention, because the bending over to wrap things in paper and place them in the box was killing my back.

Read More

From Behind the Wall

It is less than twenty-four hours into my daughter’s visit and things are tense. My stomach churns as I begin to fear our next ten days together. I had high hopes for this visit.

Read More

Here I Go.

Jumpy. That’s how I felt—like a skittish deer who thought she could make a break for the other side of the freeway, changed her mind at the very last second, and leapt back from the road to narrowly avoid a semi truck.

Read More