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

A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” ~ Thomas Jefferson A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… OK. Stop. Maybe my story doesn’t actually start so far away. As for a long time ago...well this part is probably fairly accurate. If we were going back in time the year would be 1977. I was just 4 years old. The far, far away part, well you could say it's about as close to being factual as possible. After all, we were living quite a long distance from home at the time. In fact, when Star Wars, A New Hope premiered my dad was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. Which was some 5,232 miles from Texas to be precise. I remember waiting in a line a mile long it seemed, on post to see this new marvel they were calling Star Wars. I took in every scene holding my breath watching Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo and Princess Leia rise up against the Empire. I was completely taken with the whole idea of a lost son becoming a Jedi. I was torn though. My imagination was a complete...

"Life is a journey, not a competition." ~ Unknown As a little girl growing up in the 1970's and 80's I was surrounded by books, comics and my imagination. I'd spend hours outside running, jumping rope, climbing trees, crossing monkey bars, roller skating down the sidewalks and riding my bike anywhere I could. I loved to go berry picking, build forts and spend the weekends cooking out with our family and friends at the state parks. I loved skipping, fishing on the pier or out by the lake and roasting marshmallows every chance I got. I loved the long summer days we spent on the beach, the sand between my feet and the cool spring evenings we spent playing mini putt putt at the castle. I grew up an only child, this is a fact. So for me this meant I had to learn early on how to entertain myself and not get bored. Because of this I learned to use my imagination quite well and to explore and to take adventures within an adventure. I was the girl with wild ide...

"Mama looked into me and saw something worth believing in long before I believed in my self." ~ Keion Jackson As a little girl I used to pretend I was a school teacher. I would set up my imaginary classroom in my bedroom, put on a pair of my dad's old army lens-less glasses, some of my mom's high heels and play school. All my dolls and stuffed animals would attend and of course homework was a must. The thing is I had ( still have) a learning disability. I struggled with math and science especially. On the flip side I was very strong in English and history. The truth is I never felt very smart in an actual classroom. But my mom, she always believed in me even when I was threatening to quit. Even though I struggled in math and she was a whiz with numbers, my mom never allowed me to believe I couldn't achieve my dreams. My dad on the other hand was the one who always encouraged me to write even when I misspelled every other word. Together my parents cultiva...

"Watch yourself little girl. You're swimming in the deep end now." ~ Anonymous Learning to swim in the deep end of the ocean can be scary. The idea of not being able to touch the bottom while sharks are circling on all sides is simply terrifying. But sometimes life is just like this scenario. Life with all it's complicated lessons throws you in head first, no floaties and screams "SWIM!" My life so far, has been countless"SWIM" lessons. Not that I'm complaining or counting actually because I've definitely learned to swim without my floaties on more than once. As for the sharks, well they are another story all together. But this is the thing about those terrifying, jagged edged mouth full of teeth, ready to devour us whole sharks: if a difficult situation doesn't challenge you then it certainly won't change you. So the reality is those sharks circling us night and day, well they have a purpose. They teach us not only to tread ...

If you had asked me a couple of years back what I do for a living, I’d have looked you straight in the eyes and told you straight up, I’m a mom, need I say more? My resume would have included the following description and then some. Nonstop cleaning lady, 24 hour a day short order cook, personal assistant, finance adviser, loan officer, troop grocer, personal organizer, stylist, motivational coach, trainer, storyteller, fixer upper, triage nurse, detective, school volunteer, advocate, and yes teacher. I won’t mince words I loved being a stay at home mom. Looking back, I wouldn’t trade easier days for any of the difficult ones.  They say, “Love what you do and do it well.” Guess that pretty much sums me up then. Lately Johnny and I have been reminiscing, taking a stroll down memory lane, evaluating our lives. You could say we’ve really stopped to smell the roses. We’ve talked a lot about how we met, retelling stories, pulling old pictures out of our boys, ourselves, my parent...

Growing up is scary. And by growing up I don’t mean getting older or putting mileage on. No, I mean growing into men and women who were born victorious.  None of us are born to live a life of defeat. Yes some are given more, while others have to fight to get to the top but we're not meant to live derailed, crushed or rejected. What I do know from my own difficulties, is I want to be the kind of woman who doesn’t settle but walks with purpose, allowing the fire inside me not to scorch my surroundings but to burn brighter inside of me. Growing up isn’t about who you are,where you're from or where you're going in life because we’re all still growing, learning every day whether we’re 10 years old or 80. The truth is up until we take our last breath our hearts and minds continue to illuminate and compose our story. Our tales are never fully told or revealed until the last word is penned on the very last page of the final chapter and the book is closed. Honestly, until...

I’m going to step out of my box today. I’m going to speak boldly, courageously. I have something to say and I need to clear my chest so to speak. I think too many times those of us with strong, independent and sensitive souls are misunderstood. For the most part we’re liked and yes loved but there are those who have no taste for us in the least. For years I tried to please everyone. Not only is this impossible, it’s toxic to our well-being. I didn’t handle rejection very well at all for a long time.  I was crushed, undone by the brush-off.  In recent years I have come to understand, it has nothing to do with me. It comes down to apples and oranges.  The reality is I'm never going to be everyone’s best friend. And you know what, that’s OK! Life lesson #45:  I'm more than what you see. I am strong, I am kind and I am giving.  What I am not is a doormat. Many times we feel we have to stay quiet while others seek to provoke us. In life we are alwa...

Have you ever asked yourself why is it as women we tend to compare ourselves to one another so much instead of appreciating what we each bring to the table? I often wonder if we could just stop and see ourselves through the eyes of the One who created us, molded us and perfectly designed us how we'd feel. I am thinking it would be pretty awesome and rather incredible, don't ya think?  Life lesson #35, self-doubt with all her shortcomings can really mess us up! She comes in like a wrecking ball, with her demolition crew eagerly awaiting to turn our lives into rubble. Honestly, how many of us start the day off already defeated, with our crown tilted or better yet in need of a serious polish? We believe every stinking one of the lies forced and spoon fed to us. If we don’t have the latest hair trend, if we aren’t following the newest diet fade, if we aren’t signed up for the current fitness craze or sporting an up- to - date version of ourselves we are obviously in de...