Mental Health Matters—Struggling in Silence

Depression, ADHD and World Mental Health Day Today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day. I haven’t written in several months, so today seemed an appropriate day to start again. See, the reason I haven’t written is my mental health. Between grief, ADHD, and depression caused by the grief and seven weeks without ADHD medication,ContinueContinue reading “Mental Health Matters—Struggling in Silence”

Stop Fighting With Yourself — An Epiphany Story for All

Author and her daughter enjoying a street party’s “foamboree.” Photo taken by author’s husband. A couple of weeks ago I had an epiphany. It wasn’t an aha moment with a hand gesture for emphasis kind of moment, just a quiet kind of epiphany. The epiphany? The fight is useless, I’m just going to be theContinueContinue reading “Stop Fighting With Yourself — An Epiphany Story for All”

Have We Lost Our Humanity?

Or did we have any to begin with? Street art in Washington, DC. Photo taken by author. Let me start with this. Humanity has always been inhumane. Atrocities have been committed throughout history. And, while we aren’t experiencing Genghis Khan-level atrocities at the moment (though Ukrainians might disagree), the United States is certainly allowing smaller,ContinueContinue reading “Have We Lost Our Humanity?”

A Daughter’s Grief and a Mother’s Love

There are so many polite ways to say it; passed away, crossed over, called home, shuffled off this mortal coil. The plain fact is though, my mama died. She died suddenly and quickly on Saturday, March 11, 2023 and life won’t ever be like it was. She collapsed in church, with my father by herContinueContinue reading “A Daughter’s Grief and a Mother’s Love”

The Emotional Strength of Accepting Rejection

Somewhat Gracefully Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on unsplash.com. My writing’s been rejected a lot. Sometimes, it wasn’t the right fit for the publication or they had something similar in the works that hadn’t been published yet. Other times, editors have said the writing was good, but they just weren’t interested at that time. And, I’veContinueContinue reading “The Emotional Strength of Accepting Rejection”

New Year, No Need for a New Me

New Year, New Me is such a great slogan, isn’t it? The notion of a new (aka – better) version of yourself and using the start of a new year as the spark is certainly tempting. Or is it? Why do we get a million articles and ads pushing us to be something completely newContinueContinue reading “New Year, No Need for a New Me”

Our Words Matter

Words matter. They matter more than we realize. They have the power to fundamentally alter someone’s outlook. They don’t even have to be profound to make a profound impact. I’ve said those six words, “It’s a practice, not a perfect,” to my daughters regarding any number of topics, ranging from school to exercise to emotions.

Men’s Mental Health Matters

Photo by jdalton1216 on Pixabay It’s the middle of November. Movember, the month-long event that began as a way to raise money and awareness for prostate and testicular cancer, is in full swing. They’ve subsequently added a third goal, men’s mental health issues, especially suicide prevention. And, it’s had me thinking. I’ve written many timesContinueContinue reading “Men’s Mental Health Matters”

“Not Okay” Is a Distant Memory for Parents

Where we are now is well past the breaking point Street art in Washington, DC. One woman, two directions (artist unknown to author). Children in the middle. Photo taken by the author. The Atlantic recently published a piece titled “Parents Are Not Okay” by a father, Dan Sinker. It detailed the many ways in whichContinueContinue reading ““Not Okay” Is a Distant Memory for Parents”

Love is Love and Respect and Acceptance

Uniqueness is something to appreciate. The funny thing is, and as cliché as it sounds, when we are able to see people for who they really, truly are, we find our commonalities. The heart of the human condition is just that, love. We all want to be loved.