I know a lot of words. I’ve always been a voracious reader, which has indubitably proliferated my vocabulary…. Anyway! I don’t actually write like that. Point is, my vocabulary is ginormous. But there is one word that is more beautiful than all the rest combined. One monosyllabic word. A word with only two letters. No. …
Loving and being loved
I’ve been completely MIA for the past week or so. Everything is okay. I honestly haven’t felt like writing, mostly because I’ve been reading some books that a friend recommended. One is called Safe People and the other is called Boundaries. Both books were incredibly enlightening, and I’m sure I will write a post about …
My authentic self
Earlier this week, I posted a piece called Taking off the mask. It's about using humor to avoid vulnerability and to keep people at a safe distance emotionally. After some reflection, I’m afraid I inadvertently downgraded the benefits of humor. The cliché saying that laughter is the best medicine is not far from the truth. …
Taking off the mask
I saw the live-action Aladdin last week with two boys I babysit. One of the boys is ten years old and the other one is seven. We had the following conversation on the way home: D (10): Who do you think was the funnier Genie? The cartoon or this one? Me: Well, Robin Williams played …
Acceptance
I’m not sure what to write about this morning, so I am using a prompt from Beckie’s Mental Mess, a blog written by an amazing advocate for mental illnesses. She is also very supportive of other bloggers who want to share their stories about mental illness. When you first found out that you had a …
A story of fear and discovery
Fear is a multi-faceted emotion. Being afraid of something that threatens your safety or livelihood is just one vein of fear. Sometimes those sources of anxiety are irrational, as Daniel Gardner argues in his book The Science of Fear. There is also the fear of failure, which I wrote about earlier this week. Here, too, …
Where’s my limit?
I am an ultra-competitive person. I don’t know anyone more competitive than me, though I’m sure there are some people who are comparably competitive. I started playing soccer when I was five, and I remember crying after we lost games. I didn’t understand how my teammates could be so excited about stupid snacks after we …
I am a survivor
I have lived through numerous traumatic experiences over the years. As I’ve alluded to before, I’m not ready to share the details of what I’ve been through, but I have an inkling I will disclose some pretty heavy stories sooner rather than later. Suffice it to say, I could consider myself a victim because of …
Another post on friendship
Friendships are a funny thing. Have you ever spent time thinking about how you met each one of your closest friends? I do it a lot, and it is fascinating. I have friends who I’ve met through church, and that isn’t necessarily the biggest deal because those people are obviously like-minded and looking for community. …
Dopamine and humor
I was a witty kid. I have vivid memories of instances of rather refined humor for a kid so young. The Left Behind series was huge when I was a kid, and we watched the movie several times. I knew what the rapture was and what it’s going to look like when it happens. We …
Between Two Poles 