How to climb out of a hole

This is not a literal hole. I would characterize it as a hole of despair.  And I'm not sure I climbed out as much as I was pulled out.  It was definitely a combination of me climbing and three or four people pulling. About six days ago, I was swept off my feet by a …

Do You Feel Trapped?

I’m not talking about when you’re driving in 5:00 traffic and the universe has it out for you because each time you change lanes, the lane you ease into slows down to a crawl. Or when you’ve put all your weeks’ worth of groceries on the belt, there are two people behind you, and the …

Five Reasons You Need a Dog

Today we had to say goodbye to our sweet dog Lely.  She would have been 18 in April.  In her honor I give you the Five Reasons You Should Have a Dog 1.  They provide excellent excuses.  Lely gave us a reason to leave a party early.  For my introverted friends, this is an excellent …

Stream of Conscience

I battle with writing about topics like domestic violence, rape, sexism, abortion, or racism. Not because I’m afraid of what people will think or say (yes, I am), but mostly because I believe that we create our reality with thoughts and emotion. I don’t want to increase negative vibes by talking too much about a …

What Not To Think About

If I told you not to think about something, it could be anything, that's exactly what you'd think about. A hammer, a car, the universe, pink elephants. We can't help it, that's how our brains work.  I remember growing up in Georgia and attending an overly strict "Christian" school, they told us "don't think about …

That damn Gillette commercial

I love the new Gillette commercial, the one calling men to hold each other accountable, because in less than two minutes it addresses bullying, sexual harassment, accountability, and healthy role models. It states "We believe in the best of men" and ends with a father walking with his son and the dad breaks up a …

Adoption

Our friends just brought home a darling little girl they adopted from Colombia. I saw the photos from the celebratory homecoming at the airport with their family and closest friends and I was moved by what I saw. Almost three weeks away from home, just shy of a month separated from their older children, and …

Letting go

A couple of weeks ago when we were up to our calves in gifts and all sorts of Christmas baubles, I had a thought: I have too much crap and I need to get rid of it. Not very holiday-spirited, but I was feeling a bit closed in.  The stuffed snowmen on my mantel stared …

Am I enough?

I stared at the page on my computer screen, unable to write a word. Self-doubt paralyzed me as I attempted to fill out an application for a job a friend told me about. She said I'd be perfect for the position and could fit easily into the work culture at this company.  I was thrilled …

Feel free to hurt someone’s feelings

When I was younger, more often than not, I would sit in discomfort or pain rather than risk hurting someone's feelings.  I was terrified of telling a friend or especially my spouse the truth of a matter because it might "hurt their feelings" or make them uncomfortable or worse, angry with me; meanwhile, my migraine …