I lost my sister Ashley to brain cancer in 2011. She fought for 10 years with glimpses of remediation in between. My Dad and Step-mom, used every monetary resource available to heal her but no amount of money healed her. Teri's world stopped and emptiness excavated her spirit . I'm not sure if it's ever became whole again. I believe part of her soul left when Ashley did. She left us a legacy though, Aiden John. I will never forget her last mothers day, lying in a hospital bed in hospice and ...
As I remember: Letter to My Daughter
My Dearest Madison Leigh, If my heart had vocal cords, you would make them sing. It would be a triumphant sound because even though you came from my womb, I’m the one who was given life. I remember when I carried you in my tummy. I spent too many nights laying, wondering how it was possible to have a child that I didn’t deserve. Fear would rise; would a thumb or toe be missing? How could I, little old me, have a perfect babe from above. But my darling girl, my fears drifted away when you ...
5 Questions to Determine What You Love & Why It’s Important
Statistically Did you know that doing what you love adds years to your life? You have the potential to be healthier just by living out your purpose!! So, let's find out what we love because it's so important! For the sake of civility It’s been a while since I’ve blogged and there is a real reason for that. Plain and simple, the material became too heavy. Reading police reports and printing massive documents from my mother’s case left me feeling on edge. Additionally, I took a full-time ...
Body Shaming, Fear of Fat, and our Distorted Views of Health
Transforming my body and mind I grew up despising my body. There were very few parts of me that seemed adequate; my feet, my hair- ummm- that’s probably it; however, my dislikes overshadowed those two little areas in which, they were not significant enough to balance out my overall body image. When I’d play Barbie’s with my best friend Mary, I wondered if my body would eventually magically morph into something like hers, convincing myself it would just take time, I was still young. By eight ...
Letting My Daughter Go as I Hold on Tight
As my daughter approaches this next phase in life, we are both struggling to let go and begin. I've fought to change the ways I handle stress and impose control. Yet, still, this week I abandoned all of my insight and caved to the devils schemes. I pressured and pushed until my girl broke; "What do you want to do", "Don't take the easy way out", "Why aren't you answering me", "Which college will you go to". Then I pulled out all the stops and in the back of my mind thought: "Do you know ...
Love Is No Color and It Is Every Color
When ! was growing up, I constantly imagined what my life and family would look like-be like. I wanted the perfect life with happiness and health and joy. I wanted everything different than what my real life was. For fun, my best friend Mary and I would sit down, hip to hip, in a cozy chair with a Sears Catalog and circle the woman we would be, the man who would fill the role as our husband, and the kids we would have. "I'm her," she'd say and I'd search for my girl and say, "I'm her!" She ...