It’s nice to meet you. I’m a mom and nature lover, but more than that, I love the nature inside myself and how that has fed all of the other parts of me. My favorite places at home are in the barn, in the gardens, and under the silver maples…

Revelation in a lavender-scented trash bag — Yesterday, as I was cleaning up after my daughter’s grad party, I noticed something strange. The trash bags my partner buys are the lavender-scented ones…ones that I previously avoided buying. I know…that’s not really strange. But… I am super sensitive to scents and chemically-made scents have never been okay for…

What used to be. What will never be again… — I have just spent the past, nearly two weeks, being with my oldest child. He had a nice amount of time on leave from the US Army and spent it entirely with us and his friends from here, his childhood home. The big family spent a week up north in…

Doing it again…this time, it’s all mine — Once upon a time, there was a sweet little girl. She had a mommy and a daddy, grandmas and grandpas, many cousins, and dear friends. She was dearly loved, watched over, and taught well. Much was expected of her. And at the tender age of eight, she was told it…

Women’s Edition This is for the women out there who are trying to get their heads wrapped around being naked again…in front of someone new. For the woman who can say, “ the last time someone saw me naked for the first time was like…25 years ago”. (or 1 year…

I finally found something REAL to be grateful for… I am usually a pretty happy person. I love people. I love trees. I love long hikes, books, flowers, and birds. I love food and clouds and baby’s laughter. However, lately, the things I love haven’t cut it. They haven’t been…

A woman’s take on what they want. — I’m a middle-aged woman, yes. But many of my closest friends are men. They are the fathers of my children’s friends. They are the husbands of my childhood friends. They are men who have taken my retreats. I have six brothers and two brothers-in-law as well. I have helped raise…

Why not tell my side of the story? — There are a lot of reasons I have not written about men’s mental health, depression in particular. I am not a man and I know how many men could get pissed off about a woman’s perspective on one of their issues. I never thought about it until a reader of…

Giving words to desire can be dangerously disappointing — Just recently, I wrote about not being able to find words for a dream. I had already put so many dreams to rest, none having been realized. And each of them had been put to rest because of decisions I had made around men. It wasn’t necessarily their fault. I…