You’ve lost your footing and nothing makes sense anymore.

What hit me with my iPhone, iPad, iPencil, and all things that apparently “i” need laying all around me is “i” am using the very tools that are enslaving me.

Your body is a gift. She is the most uniquely precious thing – every curve, wrinkle, bump, mark, pound, and scar is telling you a story you need to hear about what she has been through and how special you are. If you are in pain or have sickness, it is not her fault. She is not against you. She is telling you she is hurting and needs your help. Be kind to her.  

I guess Mother’s Day is an appropriate time to say I’m pregnant. It is also a time I want to honor the story of every woman in my life personally and professionally. I have a privilege of hearing very personal stories in my office every week.

Have you ever experienced the feeling of shock? Do you remember what you felt, how your body reacted, what you did next? We enter fight, flight, or freeze mode, and in all 3 we are still unconsciously responding to the unexpected.

Her skin is darker than mine, and her smile takes up all the space in the room. She laughs even though she is burdened, and she plays even though she is tired. I compare myself to her as if we should somehow be carried with the same amount of love and admiration in our boys’ hearts.

A month before my 38th birthday last year, I laid in bed staring out the window into the dark night. My mind wandered in sleeplessness, and my heart ached in confusion. My life had ended up far south of WhereIAlwaysHopedVille.

I eyed each pumpkin in the patch trying to determine which ones would perfectly stack on each other to make that pristine gourd tower. You know – the one on every southern home porch that shouts “It’s fall, y’all.”

I had a conversation with a friend recently who also likes to write. We both desire to be transparent about our stories, but sometimes there is a risk of that story exposing too much and potentially being harmful.

“Attention, you have 15 great white sharks near you. Please calmly exit the water.” Thanks for the heads up, but CALMLY exit the water? But the reality is that when in crisis, in the middle of trauma, in the midst of danger, we are advised to “stay calm.” Why?