Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

“I am brave. I am bruised. I am who I am meant to be. THIS IS ME.” ~The Greatest Showman  Chronic illness is a pain in the butt. Especially when one comes out of left field and smacks you up side the head. There’s no nice way to say or get around it. Chronic illness is a bully. And if you have or love someone with a chronic illness, you get it. I’m not gonna sit here and tell yoo lving every day with a life altering illness is heroic. It’s not. There’s nothing romantic about it. Jamie Wingo spells it out perfectly. “It’s not just pain. It’s a complete physical, mental and emotional assault on your body.”  Chronic illness is exasperating, annoying and irksome. That’s really what it is. And yes, it can be challenging too. Most of us within the spoonie realm will tell you straight up, we prefer keeping our vexing and at times aggravating diseases out of the spotlight. We spend a lot of our time concealing our troubles. Think of it as camouflage. Not everyone nee...

“Fear has two meanings: Forget everything and RUN or face everything and RISE. The choice is yours.” ~Zig Ziglar  Life’s challenging. There's no sugarcoating it. I know I’m oversimplifying it, aren’t I? One day everything’s right as rain and the next? Well, let's just say, that same steady, comforting rain suddenly becomes a torrential downpour. Truth is everything about life is demanding. There’s no way around it. Life challenges us every step of the way and it rarely, if ever lets up. Even on the good days, we’re aware change is on the horizon. Really think about it. From the moment we take our first breath life confronts us with change and opposition. Like it or not, life is a crash course in the mastery of interference, difference and transformation.  And the truth is, change is necessary. Sure, we can resist it all we want but this is the thing. Change will always get its way... one way or another. Transformation happens. Can’t get around it. Change transf...

“ Make peace with your broken pieces.” ~R.H. Sin  Let’s talk forgiveness. I know. It’s one of those dirty words we don’t like to use, isn’t it? Nope, it’s not a four-letter word so to speak but it definitely gets the same reaction as the notorious F word doesn’t it?  Who wants to forgive or forget, anyway? It’s easier to hold a grudge, right? Or is it? Does forgiveness really make us weak or is it possible letting bygones be bygones can actually make us stronger? So, what is forgiveness and why is it so necessary anyway?   Granted most of us think of Christianity when the word forgiveness comes up. After all Jesus commanded His followers to forgive, but really, it’s more than a religious commandment. The concept of forgiveness is vital if we want to be happy or live freely. Tell you what. How about we just put the whole I command you thing aside for a moment. Christian or not, forgiveness is an important process. It’s not just a parlor act, an ...

 “There is no force equal to a woman determined to rise.” ~ W.E.B. DuBois  My whole life people have second guessed me. It’s just the way things are. At this point, I really don’t mind so much anymore. And for what it’s worth I’ve learned to accept it. There’s always one reason or another I’m forgotten or left out. Sometimes there’s not even a rational answer. As for an apology? Who apologies to someone they can’t remember? The truth is, being out of folks' minds isn’t so bad, not really. As far as I’m concerned being clean out of a handful of particular folks' minds isn’t such a bad deal anyway. Besides, “some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons.” And as far as I’m concerned, I’m good with that.  But the why? It's a good question. Just don’t ask me why I’m one of those invisible souls. I couldn’t tell you if I tried. I’ve pretty much spent my life disregarded and unappreciated by a good many folks. Overlooked, ignore...

“Do you have the courage to bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say YES.” ~Elizabeth Gilbert Did you daydream as a child? Of course, you did. We all do. Do you remember what they were? Or how they made you feel? As children we think we’re invincible really. I know I did when I was a little girl. When we’re kids, we can scale mountains with one leap or take to the skies in a single bound. And when you’re little the doors between daydreams and reality aren’t always as well defined as they become when we’re adults. Either door we chose, as children or adults, whatever dreams we follow or chase, eventually build our character and form our caliber. Dreams are funny this way, aren’t they? They can make us feel ten feet tall or smaller than a flea, in a circus and maybe just as useless too. Our dreams have the ability to shape or shatter us. Dreams can be misleading too but the truth is without them hope dies. The reality is drea...

“As a mom I go to bed every night promising myself that I will do better. Most days I stumble, some days I am down right ashamed of my behavior. I wish I was perfect for you, but I am human and sometimes I will fail. But I promise to never ever give up!” ~ Unknown Growing up an only child with a rather big imagination I kept my mama on her toes. I had dreams as big and wide as the open skies of Texas. By now I shouldn’t have to tell you my dreams were equally as big as my imagination. I’d spend hours dreaming up adventures in far off places, I spent most of my afternoons daydreaming about kings and queens,  knights, dragons, the Jedi and of course superheroes. I wanted to grow up and be a teacher, writer, singer, dancer and even a soldier like my daddy. Contrary to popular opinion at the height of the late 70's and early 80's becoming a mom was at the top of my list too. I told you I had dreams...big ones. Now I won’t candy coat the truth, life made a fairl...