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

“That’s the story of you and me, the way we’ve always been and we’ll always be friends until the end. “ ~ Piglet I was very little when my mama first introduced me to Pooh Bear. She read all the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh to me as a child somewhere between 1977 and 78. I in turn read them to my own boys some 25 years later. In fact I felt such a strong attachment to Pooh Bear both the boys nurseries softly resembled the 100 Acre Wood. I’m sure my love and fondness for Winnie the Pooh came from my childhood memories. I remember listening to my mama’s sweet voice bringing the world of Christopher Robin to life every night that year. She began reading ‘The House at Pooh Corner’ by A.A. Milne to me soon after we’d seen Disney’s animated feature-length film, ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh’ in the spring of 1977 on Post. This silly, Buddy Bear with his  'chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff' as the Chieftains brilliantly describe and his entourage taugh...

"You ever stopped and thought wow, I prayed for this. It's here. It's happening." Have you ever thought what if? What if I had been smarter or been prettier? What if I had a bigger house or a better education? What if I had more money or a better job? What if I had a different family and a different name altogether? The question of what if is most certainly a loaded question, is it not? And what makes us really believe these things can truly bring us real happiness? Growing up as an only child with a curious nature I often asked what if a lot. As a little girl I was a free spirited, bubbly, and talkative freckle faced, red head with adventure on the brain. I often wondered out loud to myself  and to anyone else would listen,  what it might be like to have a sister of my own. I wasn't picky, she could be my big sister or little. I didn't care if she had brown hair or red just as long as she was my mine. Truth be told I was a miracle baby, and the odd...

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish, I wish tonight. We'll make a wish, and do as dreamers do, and all our wishes (all our wishes), will come true."  ~ Wishes Like you, our new year began with ushering out the old one. We gathered with friends and family at our home celebrating the New Year. It's become a tradition of sorts, gathering together laughing, playing games, sharing stories and watching the fireworks. My best friends and I have known each other for over 20 years and our kids have grown up together. Our children, now grown have celebrated milestones together and graduated together. Looking back it's hard to believe for two decades our families have seen one another through 20 years of adventures. And again we have said goodbye to yet another year and hello to 2017 together.  So now after a 12 month long journey 2016 has come to a close. But with the new year's arrival 365 new opportu...

“She’s my confidant, my joy, my private dairy, my strength. She’s my soul sister.” That’s exactly what I have in my dearest and closest friend Shawna. We all have best friends; they are the people we can’t do life without. We share our families, our time and our joys with them. They are family through and through and no one can take their place in our lives. There’s that one friend though, maybe two if you're really blessed as I am. Not to the exclusion of your best friends,  this kindred is simply a soul friend, a sister, a brother, something almost beyond words, a relationship altogether different from any of the others. Now speaking as a woman, finding your soul sister is a pretty remarkable thing. It’s best described as looking into a perfect mirror image of our own soul. You are not in any way sisters by blood; instead it’s almost as God created your souls as a whole, then split it into two separate, distinct, beautiful and rare but connected pieces before sending each pi...

Weekends are made for fun, laughter and a little bit of ruckus. Friends on the other hand are handpicked, born to spend the weekend with. I love weekends. They just simply lend themselves to freedom and fun.  Late nights, even later mornings, Tex-mex, margaritas, Mexican train, Phase 10, dancing, karaoke and anything else we can think of is up for grabs. Weekends are definitely made for me and my familia.  When I say this week Saturday couldn’t have gotten here fast enough I am not kidding. The week itself started off with a bang for my best girlfriends and me.  Seriously, they say things come in threes? Well who am I to say otherwise?  Looking at month of September so far, not to mention this last week Lord have mercy is all I can say. It has been a riot of a mess for the three of us and that’s not saying nearly enough. Let me see if I can explain any of this without causing your heads to go up in smoke. Nat broke her hand; Shawna has had a difficult if not ...

When you stop, thinking about the ladies you call your sisters, your best friends, those who share in your uncanny, quirky and zany ways who comes to mind?  I don’t mean a number, a title or some cute hashtag, I'm talking the kind of girlfriends you can completely rely on, those you trust, who hold your complete confidence, I'm speaking of  your closest allies, the friends who tell you the truth no matter what. I'm thankful, I have these kinds of friends, the sort of kindred spirit's who know your soul deeply, both the dark and illuminated spaces of your heart. These are the kind of kinship's you just don’t know how you’d live without. Some move in and out of my life at different times, yet remain tied to my heart. By God;s grace time never seems to diminish our bond. While all are kindred,some are closer than a sister.These are the friends so close they feel my sadness without  me ever having to say a word. Mindy Kaling sums it best as far as I’m concerned, ...

Life is such a crazy, beautiful mixed up mess isn’t it?  Personally, I’ve never fit into a box and truthfully I don’t ever remember worrying about it.  I never wanted to be normal. I was happy coloring outside the lines, being the nerd or geek who spent her day’s slaying dragons, conquering Lex Luther and Toy Man, following Frodo into Mount Doom or simply lost in a book for hours.  I was the girl into Dr. Who before it was cool. I lived and breathed comic books, jumping off dressers yelling “Wonder Woman” and singing to myself. I was THAT girl.  Reckless, abandoned and free in a world chained to ordinary, I was brought up to believe I could be anything or anyone I wanted to be.  I was different and that was a marvelous trait as far as my parents were concerned. They supported my creativity and encouraged my never-ending journey into imagination. To let sparks fly, to own who I was and not apologize for it. My feet were never on the ground, but my ro...