Photo by Arno Smit on Unsplash "Are you ever afraid that no one will care about what you have to say?" The question gave me pause, but only in my mind. I answered far too quickly-- in such a way that I'm sure seemed arrogant. Honestly? It's never really occurred to me. I instantly…
Photo by Paula May on Unsplash A few weeks ago, my mom sent me a video of my 18-month-old nephew that struck a weird chord in me. Mom keeps him while my sister and her husband work, so it's not uncommon for me to get surprised with adorable pictures and videos throughout the day, but something about this…
This morning as I drove to work, I saw a pretty typical thing happen on 75: a big SUV swerved out of an exit lane and back onto the interstate only to swerve immediately back into the exit lane and... you know, exit. I wasn't the unfortunate soul directly behind this car, so I wasn't…
I've been learning a lot as I've transitioned into [faux] adulthood over the last couple of years. One lesson in particular keeps showing up, reminding me that growing older is often just a matter of unlearning all the things you once knew to be true. The longer you've carried a belief, an idea, or an attitude,…
I never felt comfortable in my home town. It never quite felt like home. My skin would crawl when I had been there too long, and my heart seemed to ache for all the places I had never been... but never for home. As a teenager, I was terrified of getting trapped in my small…
I don't really feel like writing, but here I am, and I'm writing. I haven't written in months, so I'll go ahead and apologize to my inner circle for having to listen to all the words that have been falling out of my mouth instead of making their way gracefully from my brain to my…
The first thing I do when something new begins in my life is slap a big fat expiration date on it. I guess it's not always big and fat. Sometimes I scribble it on the back out of sheer habit, but other times I pull out the label maker and use the large print. I'm…
"Somebody raise a silent hand and tell me--" FIVE BILLION HANDS IN THE AIR. Okay, maybe not five billion. But a solid 87% of the little ones at the summer theatre camp I work at will volunteer to answer a question before they even know what the question is. This baffled me when I first…
I'd like to be the kind of person that gives without conditions, expectations, or ultimatums. I understand that the desire to give and the desire to receive are something of a package deal, but sometimes I find myself giving only in the hopes that I will get a return. I don't really think that's giving.…
I cried a lot on Thursday. I cried in my therapy session, I cried on the bus, I cried in the Target parking lot, I cried in the car on the way to work, and then I got in a big hurry and I forgot to cry the rest of the evening. I think I…
