(This post is in response to the prompt “What’s your Storytelling Superpower” for the DIY MFA Book Club. To learn more about the club, click here. To take the quiz yourself, click here.) It comes as no surprise that my “superpower” came back as Survivor. The stories I’ve enjoyed most from childhood on have had a main character(s) facing a formidable enemy, oftentimes while simultaneously fighting their own inner demons. My own survivor story got its start during my childhood

A few days ago, as I walked down an aisle in Target, I passed by a woman speaking to a clerk. As I wandered past, the clerk nodded his head and proceeded to lead the woman to what she was seeking. The woman, following his lead, said with a slight giggle, “I’m just a mom. What do I know?” I responded in a whisper to her question, “Everything.” I’m sure she was kidding, at least to a degree. Now obviously, I know she doesn’t know everything. But having been a parent for almost

Each and every day we have a choice – the path of love or the path of fear. We are responsible only for our actions and our reactions. We cannot choose or dictate how others will behave, no matter how much we might want to. I chose the path of fear in my life for many years. When I choose fear, I feel small and weak. Powerless. I forget who I am. I forget the truth that I am light and love. I forget that I hold power and wisdom within me. I forget that I am whole just as I am

When I was about twelve years old, I went to the beach with my family. I loved playing in the ocean. I had no fear of it. I especially loved finding sand dollars! It was an amazing little gift from nature to find them. One day, I ran headlong into the ocean water, jumping waves as I ran and managed to catch my foot just right on the edge of a sand dollar. It ripped a gash in my big toe that kept me out of the water for the rest of the trip. Where I came from, you only saw a d

We all do it. At some time or other despite our best intentions, we eat food we know will make us miserable, drink more than we intended, lash out at those we love most or succumb to our own negative self-talk. We know exactly what is good for us, yet we struggle to consistently incorporate healthy habits into our lives. It is a part of being human, albeit a frustrating part. In my own journey to wellness and healing, patterns have emerged. Anytime I began to move toward succ

I am at the barrier of my comfort zone and I want to push it. HARD. Not just push it – I want to blow it out of the water. I spent the majority of my life prior to college in a near constant state of fear. I was 36 when I started college. That adds up to a lot of fear. The trajectory of my life shifted when my husband said to me, “You’ve taken care of us for the last twelve years. What do you want to do?” No one had ever asked me that. Not on that level. I had always been som

I have this acquaintance I’ve known for many years. She comes to visit from time to time. It is never what I would call a pleasant visit, only comforting in its familiarity. No matter where I’m at or what I have happening in my life at the moment, she will drop by unannounced. Most often these visits come at the worst time for me. You know what I mean…life is upside down and you feel completely overwhelmed. Yep. That’s when she stops by. I have known her for so long, as long