The Power of One Kind Word
We were wrong. As children we stuck our tongues out at the playground bully and hollered with a fake bravado, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” We were wrong. Wikipedia tells me this childhood rhyme has been around since 1862. For 150 years we have been telling ourselves
Cancerversary
Some days seem to count more than others when it comes to cancer. May 14th? The day I found out I had breast cancer. July 14th? The day I had my mastectomy. April 26th? My reconstruction surgery. Before my eyes even bothered to blink open this morning, I knew what day it was. August 19th.
First Day of School Fail
Ugh. I did it again. Twice. Yesterday was the first day of school. My daughter started 7th grade, which in Athens, means going to the middle school. My boys are in 5th and 1st, still at the elementary. Two schools means two separate drop off times. Two chances to get back-to-school pictures of at least
Life Lessons from IKEA
Oh dear God… What have I done? I stared at the box and felt panic creep into my throat. I can’t do it. Do you see me, God? I’m shredding my hands just trying to get the box open. This is too hard. I give up. But I couldn’t give up. I had three incredibly
Kindness Found in Bathrooms and Backseats
There are certain conversations I’m sure God never intended us to have with each other. Like in high school, when my poor dad seemed to pale a little every time I asked him for money for bras or tampons. That’s just not a comfortable conversation. Single dads are raising daughters, and single moms are stepping
The Two C’s
Ouch. My daughter’s words cut deep into my heart. I was failing. Not in everything, but in this one thing. The conversation at the dinner table halted as I processed this information. “It’s just that sometimes I talk to you and you’re looking at your phone and you don’t even acknowledge me.” My first response
Rummage Sale Cash & Kindness Come in Handy
Red and blue lights whirled in my rearview mirror. Uh oh. Someone was in big trouble. I turned the corner and drove another block before the police car came up behind me. I pulled over to allow the officer room to pass. After all, I am a law-abiding citizen. Imagine my surprise when the officer
