Authenticity
Moving to Midland: Fighting Through the Ugly to Find the View
Satellite map stalking can only prepare you so much. I saw Midland in real life, for the very first time, the night before we closed on our house here. We had just finished the 2-day-long trek from North Dakota with 3 kids, 2 dogs,1 cat and the biggest Uhaul they make. We had engine troubles…
Read MoreMenace to Society… Almost
I was in a major funk after our vacation in mid-June. Maybe it was a vacation hangover. Maybe seeing my parents and siblings made me miss them even more. Maybe it was the summertime lack of schedule. Maybe it was the random rainy weather. I’m not quite sure. I just know that I didn’t want…
Read MoreLocking My Keys in the Car and the Surprising Thing That Saved Me
Ding, ding, ding. The fuel light flickered on right in the middle of the evening juggling act. I had dinner on the stove at home and my two youngest waiting for me to get back. I had just dropped my oldest kid off at Jiu Jitsu and was only supposed to be gone for 20…
Read More10 Dollars, The Stranger And Why I Make Art
I will never forget him, even though I never got his name. I don’t remember what he looked like, but his words changed my path. They realigned me with who I am and what brings me joy. For that, I am forever grateful. I was at an event in a neighboring town, “100,000 Poets, Artists…
Read MoreFinding My Compass: From Resentment & Resistance to Peace & Presence
English cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella swim in Italian dressing bolstered with sea salt and cracked pepper to my left. Two shots of espresso, vanilla and cream share a stainless steel rainbow tumbler to my right. The normal bustle of dogs and children is replaced with the sounds of cars passing outside the window…
Read MoreWhen the Bottom Rips Out: Hammocks, Oil Busts and New Doors
We didn’t expect the ripping, the falling, the afterwards, but it happened just the same. Tim grilled the chicken he’d been marinating all day while I made a kale salad with a honey dijon dressing. I warmed up some leftover pasta, put canned mandarin oranges in a bowl, grabbed a loaf of homemade bread from…
Read MoreMy Mess, My Medicine, My Message
Medicine isn’t always a potion or a pill. Sometimes it’s a person, or a place, or a path, or a passion. This is a sample of my mine. … The overwhelm hits me and my stomach punches back. A battle commences inside me. I over committed again, said yes to too many new things when…
Read MoreThis is a Self-Portrait
This is a self-portrait. People don’t always see the real you. They see through their own lenses of insecurity and judgement, we all do it. The world changes, people change, depending on who is looking. The mirror doesn’t typically show you who you really are either. At least that’s the case with me. It shows…
Read MoreFaux Real: Which Girl is the Authentic Me?
Which me is the “real me”? The lovely adorned one or the raw and unpolished one? Why have I chosen to believe that the least impressive side of myself is the “real” me and everything else is just a charade I put on for the world? A little girl playing pretend. Am I trying to hide “who I…
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