No Thanks in Giving – Why the Holidays Bring Relationships to a Boiling Point

There were 18 of us peacefully sitting around the Thanksgiving table enjoying our favorite meal together, the way we did every year; joking around, making fun of each other and eating a delicious, carbolicious meal.  This year was different though; this was the Thanksgiving blowout of 2008! It all started when my sister had her...

Advertisements

Johnny Mathis, not the singer…

Sixteen years old, big crush, butterflies and all - Johnny Mathis, not the singer, stole my heart. He was a happy sixteen-year-old boy with the wise eyes of an old soul. I can see his face so clearly as if I just saw him yesterday. We had a ton of fun together and felt like...

The Age of Aquarius #1

The greatest gifts in my life have come in the form of breast cancer, foreclosure, my drug and sex addicted father, who passed away when I was ten years old, my ex-husband, my children, Jake and Jonah, and their sister, Sydnee, who died two days shy of her due date. One might ask how losing...

Hippie Academy – Freedom Gone too Far!

I was in the third grade at Middlebelt Elementary School, a public school, when my father apparently had a disagreement with the principal, and the principal told him he was crazy. This was not the first time somebody called my dad crazy, by the way, but this time the situation got heated and my father...

Grandfather’s Unorthodox Methods Teach Fearlessness

My Papa Sam had a very distinct teaching style. I think Nike’s “Just do it” sums it up. When I learned to ride a bike, Papa Sam held onto the back of my bike running down the street with me, for about three seconds, and then he pushed my down the hill (which in retrospect...

‪I’m Right, You’re Wrong

There was a time, a big chunk of my life actually, when I was angry as hell! I can’t pinpoint the exact cause of this anger, my life wasn't that bad compared to most, but I was mean! Unfortunately for those around me, this anger came with an obsession to be right. I had to...

Uncle Sam, not to be Confused with Papa Sam (although equally delicious and loving)

Uncle Sam, not to be Confused with Papa Sam (although equally delicious and loving) Uncle Sam was one of the kindest, most selfless people I have ever met. He would give you the shirt off his back and never give it another thought. He had bubble gum in the trunk of his car at all...

My Son Opens his Heart While Teaching me to Face my Fears

Losing my daughter, Syndee, was life’s way of smacking me across the head and reminding me just how miraculous life, and childbirth in particular, truly are. As terrified as I was, I wanted to have another baby immediately. I was so nervous, in fact, I held my breath the entire time I was pregnant with...