There were many rules in my family but one of the most important was don’t get pregnant before you get married. My sisters and I were to present the perfect picture at all times. Don’t shame the family. I may have been in New Mexico, 1400 miles from my parents in Michigan, but those rules were like blood in my veins. I was a twenty year old mess, drinking heavily, trying to get through college, waitressing and scrambling for money for rent, food, health care, tuition and book

I am weary. Over the past year and a half, on top of the pandemic, my family was hit with medical emergencies that were out of control. I suffered a back injury as I leaned down to pick up laundry (lesson learned!) The pain was like nothing I had ever experienced. The other issues were even more serious. I am weary because Russia is a nightmare, women's rights are in more danger than ever and here we are, fighting with each other and arguing, and it's all too much. It's all t

My mother died at the end of 2019 and I wrote this piece but never published it. This morning, I thought about the people who may be scared to say they are happy about someone passing. Scared to acknowledge the relief they feel. This is for them. My mom died and I am happy. I could justify this statement by telling you facts such as this: She didn’t want to live anymore. She missed my dad. She wanted to go. She wasn’t in pain at the end and she died in her sleep. I could tell

“Everyone lies in the ER.” That statement stayed in my head long after the fear, panic and state of emergency had lessened. It seems as if we all end up in an emergency room at some point in our lives, either as the person in agony, or the advocate for said person. We recently had two very serious emergencies which led to frantic rushing to emergency rooms. The first to a city hospital. The second to hospital closer to home. As afternoon passed into evening on the day of the

Wayne Dyer said, “What other people think of me is actually none of my business.” My mother would NEVER EVER have understood this statement. EVERY PERSON’S opinion about us mattered, and all opinions mattered more than our own. I grew up with, What did they say? What did they say about your new coat? What did they say about your project, hair, sweater, shoes, mom, dad and on and on until I wanted to fall to the floor and beg for mercy. At one point, when I was perhaps sixteen

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu 2020. The unimaginable happened and the world shut down. As we tried to take it all in, scrambled to feed our families and homeschool our children, the news kept coming at us. Then in May, we, as a nation, had to face our country’s deep-seated racism in the ugliest way imaginable as we witnessed the murder of George Floyd. Families have suffered through job loss, sickness and death dur

With the shutdown of the country came the shutdown of my writing. I have published exactly two blog posts and one magazine article since THE PANDEMIC. That is not a great amount. Everything else I start to write seems so trivial or else so horrible that it would take pages to delve into even one particular subject out of so many. Today, I opened a new document to make yet another attempt at creativity and inspiration, with perhaps a dash of wit. This is me, trying to write. I

Healthy, happy families, and they do exist, are not really worrying about the upcoming Holidays except to plan food, gifts and events. Although there may be some stress concerning budgeting, travel arrangements or amounts of this or that for meals, overall, they are anticipating the holidays with delight. They want to see relatives, and they look forward to catching up, laughing, visiting and exchanging ideas. Unhealthy families do not anticipate holidays with pleasure. Unhea

What if that is how we started approaching our goals? Not as something to become perfect at, but as something we want to practice each

Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the worlds. - Rumi Deep inside of you is a light. You were born with this light. It is pure, clear and true. It is who you are. Someone or “more than one” may have tried to dim or snuff out your light a long time ago or even recently, but it remains at your core, ready to light up your life. This light is your inner spirit. It is the essence of you. It is this amazing part of you that is resilient, strong, beautiful and loving.

I have been feeling so sad about what happened in Las Vegas. As a sensitive person, it can be difficult to protect myself from feelings of pain and sorrow.  It wasn’t until yesterday that I remembered I had written about Hope after the shootings in the Orlando nightclub. I went back to the post that I wrote on June 14th, 2016 after the murderous assaults. I thought maybe my own words would reassure me. The startling fact is that the entire post could have been written about t

Murder.   Rampage.   Hate.   Fear. The Worst Massacre in U.S. History. Sadness. Fear. Anger Compassion. Confusion. More Fear. How do we get through this? How will the families and friends of the victims get through this? My love goes out to the people in Orlando and all those who have been affected. Their pain may never end. I am so sad and angry that this man felt he had the right to kill innocent people. How do we keep going, knowing such anger, fear and madness exist in th

(Updated 2019) In 2011, I finally made it to see the Anne Frank House. Having read every version of her diary, I have always felt connected to this amazing young woman who kept a record of the reality of the Holocaust that has been shared with millions. The house where Anne and her family and friends hid from the Nazis is now the Anne Frank House Museum. I had wanted to see this for 30 years by the time I had a chance to visit. The original building was saved and a museum add