Being human is hard. Raising a human is even harder. "I don’t remember many details of my childhood, but when I look back at pictures, I don’t see a girl who was very happy. And while it would be understandable to feel badly about the clothing and hair styles of the 70s and 80s, I see more than that: I see real sadness and loneliness in that little girl’s eyes." Ginger Bliss, excerpt from the memoir, Brave Enough To Be Bliss Fact: We live in an imperfect world with imperfect

“You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” C.S. Lewis Last month, I went to a wedding where the guest attire was formal. Knowing it would be breezy and humid at the outdoor venue, I had wanted to have my hair put up. The stylist was a lovely young woman who I thoroughly enjoyed talking with, but my hair wasn't turning out like my photo from a previous formal event I had shown her. I was honest saying what I didn't like (which used to be hard for me to do), so s

This weekend, I had the honor of attending the wedding of my daughter Kylee's longtime best friend, Danielle. Kylee is the matron of honor, just as Danielle stood beside her at her wedding five years ago as shown in this photo. I've watched these two girls, who are turning 30 this year, grow up together. From the days when they were in elementary school on the soccer field to the countless birthday parties and Halloween costumes, playdates and sleepovers. From summer vacation

The following song came on after a playlist, and I thought it was a great representation of what so many humans need with one caveat, think of the word love in this song as a relationship…to be taught how to love or more accurately, to be taught how to behave in healthy ways within a relationship whether it's again or, like me, for the very first time. Teach Me How To Love Again While the song is referring to a romantic relationship, the same lessons can be applied anytime be

“I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.” Anna Freud As a healthcare administrator for more than 20 years, I am very aware of how a full moon can signal a bad, or at least a rather crazy night in an emergency department. So, after waking the morning of my birthday recently seeing there was a very crisp, clear full moon still shining brightly, I wasn't quite sure what to think. As the morning pro

This morning, I was reminded of how paralyzing fear can be. It's similar to a first glance of this photo, it looks like the pier will be a perfect place to go sit and admire the ocean but as you look more closely you can see it was damaged in the last hurricane and has yet to be repaired so walking too far out can be treacherous, even life threatening according to the sign's warning. And that reminded me of fear and the alarm signals that go off in our brains based on past pa