When my anxiety gets out of control, or my mind is racing too much to concentrate on reading books, my default coping mechanism is binge-watching Gilmore Girls. I think it’s comforting to me because it’s the show I watched with my mom growing up, and we always sort of pictured our relationship as similar to … Continue reading Sanctuary
I made it through Mother’s Day. It doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment, but compared to the previous years, it’s pretty impressive. No tears, no theatrics. Just brunch, time with family, shopping, and takeout for dinner. I skipped church and I’m not sorry because I’m not ready to push myself quite that hard yet. … Continue reading The Bittersweet Spot
I have always loved stories. This year on my birthday, Uncle Jesse sent me a bunch of pictures from my childhood, some of which I don’t remember ever seeing before, and there was a common theme. In a bunch of them, there was a book on my lap. I remember learning to read before I … Continue reading My Favorite Place to Run Away: Origami Ink
My mom used to love this song by Building 429, “Where I Belong.” One of the last videos we have of her leading worship at church was her singing that song. Helen Keller used to sing it on the praise team all the time, and Mom loved it. It’s about not fitting anywhere. It’s about … Continue reading Longing for Egypt
When I was in college, I majored in both nursing and Spanish. I had always envisioned myself studying English or Creative Writing, but I was ultimately worried that I wouldn’t be able to make any money in those fields, and nursing seemed to offer more stable job prospects and fulfill this need I have to … Continue reading Preterite vs. Imperfect and Viktor Frankl
When I was growing up, I went to a church who had the same pastor for almost 40 years. Brother Bobby Smith. He was the kindest, most compassionate man and he was so good at loving people. I was only a teenager when he retired, but I still remember some of the messages he preached. … Continue reading Me and Lot’s Wife
I knew today would be a hard day. It has been two years today since my Mom died, going into the hospital for a routine surgery, and never leaving again. With this being the time of year that it is, I have been thinking a lot about the last few days I was with her. … Continue reading My Mom’s Last Message
I hate posing for pictures. Not a little bit, like a lot. I am not photogenic, and I am awkward in general, and immortalizing this forever in photos causes me great emotional distress. That is why you only rarely see me take selfies. It’s because I feel ridiculous. Here are some important facts you need … Continue reading Bad Parenting, Good Memories
I am not a huge fan of snow. Sure, as a kid I got pretty excited about it because of school being cancelled and because I live in The South where snow is a novelty. As a healthcare worker I learned to resent it a little because snow days didn’t apply to me, they just … Continue reading Snow
On Christmas Eve, I read the most perfect thing. It was a daily meditation from a collection of Henri Nouwen’s writings, You Are the Beloved. It was called, “A Prayer.” I’m gonna be honest— in devotion books and daily readings I usually skip over the holidays because I expect them to be so cliche. Like … Continue reading 2021, Henri Nouwen’s Prayer, and God With Us
Setting Up Stones 