“I’m just going to do an easy mile and a half tonight to get ready for the race.” Yes, that string of words escaped my mouth last week and I never thought I would be able to say them. I spent decades avoiding the run with the following misguided logic, “We are finite creatures. Therefore,…
Band-Aids of Acknowledgement
Imagine you’re three years old. Just a tyke, full of imagination and no limits in sight. Always exploring. Always moving. Always playing. Your sense of adventure is often much larger than your height. And sometimes that over-eagerness leads to bumps and bruises, scrapes and scuffles. So you, adventurous three year old, fall down, scrape a…
Exploring the Everyday
“Oh, Miss Kelly, let’s do more exploring! I love exploring with you!” This guy, Valor, makes my heart happy. We went out to eat in quaint, downtown New Bern and then wandered around the downtown area. He held on tightly to my hand and we walked, and looked, and took the road less traveled. We…
Hurry Up and Wait
I’m in the airport right now. I checked in online, went through security, had my prized, homemade “Kelly Jelly” confiscated due to being over 3 ounces, (Alas! Alack!) bought some Starbucks, and arrived at my gate. And now I wait. (At least I’m traveling with my laptop this time. This is a first for me and…
Bon Voyage!
Friday was an emotional day. It was my last day at work. I’ve been at that hospital for six years and even though I’m moving to another team just a floor away, it feels like farther. It feels like the end of an era. It feels final. My team sent me off in style with…
Why I Write
This is all out stolen. Not plagiarized. Just stolen. But at least it’s referenced. I’m giving credit to Leigh McLeroy, one of my all-time favorite authors. I got this email from her recently and I loved every word. It describes why I write– because I must. Why I Write From my first Big…
Mother’s Day Woes
How was your Mother’s Day? I realized yesterday how complicated a question that truly is. We have such expectations for holidays, but we don’t live in Norman Rockwell’s paintings. Our relationships are broken, full of longing and blocked goals. How was your Mother’s Day? Do you have a good relationship with your mother? Did you…
My Mother’s Day Ode
If you combined Mother Goose with Mary Poppins and threw in a dash of June Cleaver and a smidgen of Lucille Ball, you’d have the perfect recipe for my mother! Let me explain the recipe to you: I love that my mom is warm, thoughtful, resourceful, and makes everyone feel comfortable – like Mother Goose.…
The Story of Me, Part V
My life isn’t what I’d expected. If you’d asked me a decade ago where I’d live or work, you’d have gotten a different answer. But I am thankful. I am thankful for the darkest of times. Though 2006 was a difficult year, it was perhaps the most formative series of months for me personally. It…
The Story of Me, Part IV
It wasn’t a literal journey. It was a journey of the heart. A journey to deal with the death of the future I thought I wanted. It should have been a joyful and bright time in my life. I was just graduating from college, but life wasn’t panning out how I’d expected — at all.…