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Katie is a 30-year-old single mom who made the brave decision to leave her abuser one year ago. When we connected on Zoom, she bounced...

Usually, I’m the one asking the questions. Today, I’m also answering them. I believe it’s only fair that if I’m asking others to share...

Abuse doesn’t always look the way we were taught to see it. Movies and headlines show us bruises, broken bones, or police reports. And...

I am officially divorced. A “divorceé” if you will. It sounds fancy. French maybe. Like a debutante. Ready for the ball. The official decree arrived in the mail the same day my (ex) in laws traveled to our new town to watch the boy play baseball. The papers, while happily received, were very anticlimactic. There was no confetti or grand declaration. There’s no gold gilded stamps or elaborate calligraphy. Certainly nothing worth framing. And it feels… a little underwhelming. A

My girlfriend is toxic. I know- that’s shocking to hear. I only ever talk about how much I love her. How amazing she is at making every day feel like a fairytale. How lucky I am to have reconnected with her after two decades apart. But, yeah. She’s toxic. Not in that buzzword, trendy-psychosis, let’s all trauma bond kinda way. She is literally toxic. >is Britney Spears singing in your head yet? No. Go ahead and pull up Spotify- I’ll wait. Fun fact you probably don’t know abo

The Transition from Summer to Fall Summer has loosened its grip on us. It’s hot. Hotter in the sun. But the breeze is cool this evening, and the clouds provide enough shade to almost feel like fall. All of that to say, there’s a “chemo disconnect kit” in my purse. I forgot to take it out when we got home yesterday. I’ll probably leave it until tomorrow when Julie’s pump starts beeping that it’s time to disconnect. The Reality of Treatment This is her fourth treatment. Honestl

I do not love that man. That man is weak and a coward. He is both ineffectual and lacking empathy. A flawed character, for sure. I do not love that man. Truthfully, I do not know that man. I awoke one day to find him sharing my home. Beating my dog and yelling at my children. I do not know that man. He averts his eyes and raises his voice. Refuses to engage. Unless it’s a whiskey rage. Did he sneak in one night? While I was fast asleep- switch places with the man I chose? No.

Discovering Inner Peace Through Sound and Energy I recently attended a sound bath and meditative session with Reiki. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The instructions said to bring a yoga mat, so I envisioned some stretching, chants, and spiritual guidance. While there was no “lesson” per se, the guided meditation took me to a place I was not expecting. The theme was sunshine, and every time they spoke of the warm feeling, I was reminded of childhood, playing outside,

There’s a line about fences in a Miranda Lambert song: "Yeah, I could love a picket fence if it wrapped around the world." I think about it often. This whole town is wrapped in white fences. Some fences stretch as far as the eye can see. Fences That Lead Us Home Others lead the way home. These fences are markers of safety and comfort. They represent the desire to belong somewhere special. The Cliché of a Happy Life Mostly, I think of how these fences have become a cliché for

I don’t currently have a tripod. These panoramic photos were taken on my iPhone at the local soccer fields, stitched together by my hands—not because I had the perfect gear, but because I wanted to capture the whole scene. Not just a piece of it. And maybe that’s the most honest way to explain where I am in life, too. For years, I’ve asked for clarity. And for years, I fought the answers I didn’t want to see. Whether it was about a friendship I had outgrown, a marriage I was

This week's photo assignment was to take "abstract" photos. I took my photos of natural objects we have at home. Zoomed in. Adjusted the sharpness and texture. Added a black and white filter. When I was done, I looked up the definition of abstract. There are quite few, as you can imagine, depending on context. In short, the abstract is used to describe things that are intangible, something that is theoretical, or (in art) depicting a subject in a non-literal way or wheras an

Mom, do you see that? See what honey? There, across the road… It’s 8 am and the late bell rings at 8:10. If I am extremely lucky I can have her to school before they close the doors and I’m forced to endure another condescending email on the importance of attendance and tardiness. I worked the late shift again last night. Everyone on the closing shift is new, which means they’re all still learning and what should be a shift that has me home by 2:3

Ice cream after a sweaty trip to the park. The days are longer now. The air is thick with humidity. Everything feels heavy... But, it's summer. That's the thing about cancer. It doesn't give a damn about your plans. It just shows up. Whenever it wants and wrecks havoc on everyone in its orbit. So, yeah. Sometimes we have a playdate and then ice cream. We try to keep it mostly normal. We look for the sweet. That smile says it all. Life doesn't have a pause button. Here's what

Creekside, Gahanna OH What's your favorite season? It's the perfect ice breaker or surface level "get-to-know-you" type question. Most people have their answer memorized, along with their favorite color and whether they're a cat or dog person. For me though, my favorite season has changed more than once in my lifetime. If you get nothing else from my random musings, please take this gem: give yourself permission to change. Change your mind. Change your preferences. Chang

“Backpack. Backpack.”, Dora the Explorer sings, beckoning her trusted helper. The receptionist warned her before they sat down that there would be a bit of a wait. Dr. Wolf was backed up. Based on the number of sniffling children and bleary-eyed parents in the waiting room, Quinn was not surprised. Her daughter Esme was playing cheerfully with a bead maze and watching Dora go on her third adventure since they’d sat down. Thank God for iced coffee, Quinn thinks to herself whi

The girl next door was a good 6 years older than me. In childhood years that’s an entire school building. Completely different worlds. Rarely crossing paths. Except in the summer. When our parents gather us all into the shared yard for a cookout. If there’s an occasion, I don’t recall it. Maybe it was 4th of July. Or a Friday. Or over 90 degrees too many days in a row. Who can say? We’d swim all day. Our skin taut from the sun, nobody wore sunscreen in the 90’s. We welcomed

You find what you focus on. I say this all the time. How you frame something, anything, determines the meaning it will have on your life....

You'll miss it, if you blink. If you lose focus. If you fail to know what it is you're looking for. This week's photography lesson was on...

In today’s digital world, the significance of color cannot be overstated. Colors evoke emotions, create brand recognition, and can even...

The C Word Who else remembers that show? I can barely recall the plot line (sans the obvious) from somewhere deep in the recesses of my memory. To write about the C word seems so cliché. It’s sadly not so uncommon that we haven’t been effected or had someone close to us, or maybe a “friend of a friend”. The point being we’ve all read personal accounts on the internet. I think there’s plenty to be said about such a diagnosis. Plenty to learn and empathize with. To read in empa