In the past few weeks, since I began writing regularly on my blog again, I’ve had several readers contact me, expressing a desire to write and share their own stories.
Conversations with these sweet women encouraged me to think about why writing our stories is so powerful, and so needed, even if you don’t choose to […]
Heart pounding, I startle awake at 4 am. I am panic-stricken and consumed with terror.
My bedroom is quiet. There are no intruders, only my faithful furry friend Winston, slumbering quietly at my feet.
I wonder if I had screamed and scared any of my children.
For 5 minutes, then 10 minutes my heart continues to pound as […]
I see you. I know how terrified you are right now.
You are doing your best to act normally even though you have escape plans in place for tomorrow. Only your parents, who […]
to see small patches of green (finally!) on my walks with Winston and as I ride my ElliptiGO. (see the green in my rearview mirror?!)
We had some crazy snow/sleet on Easter and snow in the forecast for tomorrow (wait, what?!!), but I’m still holding out hope for more […]
I hid in my basement laundry room, hands and knees trembling as I looked through the contacts on my phone, trying to decide who to call. Over the past few months it had become increasingly clear to me that the life my children and I were living was neither safe or “normal.”
For 27 years my […]
Here in the Midwestern United States we are tentatively entering spring after a rather “bleak” winter. No real snowstorms here to speak of…. just day after day of cloudy skies and gray-toned landscapes.
The past six months of my life have felt bleak as well.
My mother […]
When I was forced to flee my 27-year-long abusive marriage 4 1/2 years ago, I never could have guessed how difficult my path would be. There was no way for me to know how devastating the fallout from an abusive marriage could be, both for me, and for my children.
I am learning how to manage […]
A week ago I made the tough decision to pull of of IronMan Wisconsin. Many of my readers know that I’ve been training hard for this race for a year now. (An IronMan race is a 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike and a “little” 26.2 mi marathon run to finish it off)
And I […]
Dear Survivor, I know; you’ve heard them talking. You’ve read the blog posts talking about the virtuous goal of being a “thriver” rather than a survivor.
I know the shame you feel, admitting even silently to yourself that for so long now ~ years, perhaps, you’ve been gasping in the deep […]
Each week my triathlon coach plans my workouts and posts them online for me. I like to look at the workouts in advance so I can plan how I’ll fit them into my busy schedule with my large family and also so I can psych myself up for the really challenging workouts.