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

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most beautiful of all. “~ The Emperor- Mulan My childhood is far behind me. Long gone are the days of my youth. I’m a child no more. This is a fact none of us can argue. Can’t change it, go back or recreate the life I was given. I am who I am because of the path God set my feet upon some 45 years ago. There's not a soul reaching back into childhood who could debate my spunk and sass came naturally. A redhead with a face full of freckles from the start, I’ve always been a bit offbeat and quirky. Stubborn, yes, difficult no, and believe me, there’s a difference. I understood the world wanted to shape me into its image. However, I had other plans. The world saw my physical disabilities as restraints. I knew better though. While everything may have been an obstacle, nothing was a limitation. Just as long as I refused to accept society's constraints. You see, deep down those so-called limitations could never truly hold me back....

'If you're lucky enough to be different...don't change." ~ Unknown Have you ever simply felt out of place? And I'm not just talking about feeling different or being mismatched. We're all incompatible at times. No, I'm speaking of something far more complex. Why this subject? Why today? Well I've been doing some thinking lately. See, I'm not remarkable or extraordinary. I haven’t broken the Internet with my ideas, style or popularity. However, I'm not the garden-variety either. I'm complicated, perplexing even and under no circumstances am I typical. Never have been, never will be. You know the type. You may very well live outside the rule yourself. So yes, today, I'm talkin'  the nitty gritty of being a divergent soul. Not some made up flamboyant show and tell reality show lifestyle either. If you’re truly a divergent mind you know what it's really like to live independent of convention and mainstream. And I've got t...

This past weekend we celebrated Micah, Johnny and my youngest child, all his quirks, likes, randomness and amazing abilities. After all it was his birthday weekend, his 16th to be exact. If we do one thing right around here, it's celebrating birthdays. Now don't get me wrong, birthdays don't always entail hoopla, a bunch of hullabaloo or grand parties, but they always include family, good friends and a good time. So when the topic of Micah's big one six came up, we knew we had to keep it low key and at the same time recognize everything that makes Micah unique, rare and beautifully divergent. Believe me I'm as surprised by this as you are that my baby boy could be anything over 10. It's beyond my imagination to think Micah could actually be 16 years old or for that matter how I could be anywhere near old enough to say my son is of driving age. But he is. Micah is a joy, he's sharp, witty, honest, loving, logical and of course debonair and handsome i...