Taking Me Seriously

This is a story about forgiving yourself and letting go.  I am the queen of only remembering stupid things I did or said, and beating myself up about it for way too long.  Nearly 16 years ago (16 years!), I said what I thought was a stupid, insensitive thing to a co-worker in a moment where she was being kind and supportive. I know you're wondering "what did you say?" but I'm going to keep that between her and I, and it doesn't matter any way. (Hint: It was about a mom/parenting thing we both had in common.) And if I told you what it was, you'd likely say "That is so insignificant; you surely have nothing to worry about." But... The important part of it is that I thought about it regularly, for years afterwards, berating myself - thinking she surely must hate me.  She was my friend on the social media so -- in a brave moment, I reached out to her and apologized for my insensitivity all those years ago. She didn't even remember it but thanked me f...

50 Fun Poetry Prompts write like you are a character in a reality show write from the POV of your pet; or what if your pet was a person write an ode to somebody: your favorite teacher, a parent, partner, sibling, coworker, aunt or uncle, cousin, etc. write about an event you missed and what you imagine it was like rewrite a college essay as a poem - either as you were then, or as you are now write about the best date you never had what a parallel universe might be like what you will do if you are a ghost write a horror or scary poem write about a dream you had write any poem without using "I", "we" or "the" what you like or hate about your neighborhood the best or worst meal you ever had, or recently write about a boss or job you had - good, bad, etc. the worst or best employee you ever had how a previous job impacted your life a great or terrible concert experience write about a physical or mental health issue you have (claustrophobia) the favorite thing ...

Photo from a recent outing in Fredericksburg. One thing you may not know about me is I like to write poetry! I used to write a lot in college, but somehow it got away from me. Lately, at the encouraging of a good friend, I've begun writing again and actually reading them out loud at poetry open mic nights!  Here's a fun one I'd like to share with you about my detour away from poetry.  I Forgot to Write a Poem It's been 20 years and  Oops I forgot to write a poem. What happened to all those weeks? What was I doing when I got to be alone? Why did I forget to write a poem? Life happened, of course, plus reading and sleeping. It's ok to roll your eyes at the trite and mundane. The truth is longer and articulated, Like a snake racing in the grass. Oops, I forgot to capture that snake. I left to chase a dream and a future, In foreign country, learn another language,  Try to make connections and  Fulfill my promise to prevent diseases but... Oops I forgot to write a po...

I have found hundreds of four leaf clovers over the past ~12 years. It's a strange talent that I discovered by simply looking around the back yard in our old house. I've turned into a fun hobby and a side business, where I sell clovers preserved in resin. I will admit I always worry I might lose "the touch"! But I honestly think anybody can find a four leaf clover ... including you! It's starting to be Clover Season 2025 so.... get ready! 1. Start with the obvious: find a patch of clover, dense or sparse. I've found four leaf clovers in all types of patches. I tend to skip patches that are just too dense and the clovers are just too small to really be able to see without a magnifying glass. 2. Adopt a calm, focused mindset. Try to release tension that you're holding in your shoulders, neck, jaw and face. Try to put aside anything else you are thinking about at the moment. It can wait. Prepare your mind to just focus on looking at clovers and counting leav...

My first claustrophobia experience happened a little more than 5 years ago. Long story short, I freaked out in an MRI machine. About a week later, I had a successful MRI. What helped was realizing that the MRI machine was actually open on the other end. I was able to get through the procedure by focusing on feeling the air and thinking thoughts like, "you need to do this for your health." The MRI showed I had a number of problems with my discs in my lower back. (That's a story for another article.) Something... maybe this MRI experience?... had tipped my anxious thoughts from the unconscious part of my brain, into the conscious part of my brain, making me feel like certain activities felt unsafe, where before they had not. That makes it sound like it was a clean 'before and after' change, but it was not like that at all. I think it was some kind of culmination, like a pitcher filling up with anxieties over time, and then spilling over. It truly surprised me, thoug...

As Clark Griswold said of his old-fashioned family Christmas, "I did it." I could totally relate this past week, after everything I had lined up for us to do actually happened without any major hitches.  We drove back and forth to South Carolina from December 21-23. We enjoyed Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home, December 24-25. We left on Christmas Day to go to Washington DC and spent December 25-28. We returned in time for a friend's Christmas party on December 28. Did I have help? Of course. But all the planning (so much planning!) that I did paid off - so I really did my part. The biggest thing that could have become disastrous was our trip to DC. But we managed to actually do all of the following, mostly on foot: The National Christmas Tree by the White House, the African American Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Chinatown, Hardrock Cafe, the National Archives, the holiday lights at the National Zoo, the Library of Congress, Union Station, Dupont Circle...