Much has been written about the brilliance of Ted Lasso and the breath of fresh air it brought into a pandemic ridden world when it premiered. The writing was fantastic, the characters were endearing, and the message of “BELIEVE” was much needed in this day and age. Ted Lasso gave us all of these things, but it also gave us something else. It gave us the hope and promise of redemption…

Back in the day I loved to walk around bookstores. A bookstore was my happy place. I loved flipping through books, feeling the pages in between my fingers, discovering new authors and paperbacks filled with wisdom.

Ten years ago this week I left my job teaching high school history and went back to grad school. One week later, I started a Masters of Professional Counseling program feeling equal parts excited and anxious. It felt like such a leap to leave the security of the classroom for the unknown of a new profession.

Six Characteristics of Emotionally Unsafe Relationships.
“Sweetheart, that’s not safe. Be careful. You might hurt yourself.” I, along with countless other parents, have said many variations of the above statement.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I love those pictures with quotes on them. Recently, I was scrolling through my News Feed and saw one that said quitting is never an option. Immediately I heard Eye of the Tiger in my mind and images of Rocky and football teams practicing in the rain and the U.S. Hockey team doing that skating drill over and over in Miracle flashed through my mind. (I LOVE sports movies. I am in no way an athlete, but sports movies and documentaries move me to chills and tears.)

Sometimes when I scan my bookshelves I have to chuckle because I’m rather sure Amazon must think I am a pretty troubled soul.  My bookshelves and my Amazon Wish List are filled with titles about loss, disappointment, and pain.  I suppose it is a liability of my profession, but even before I became a therapist, I was drawn to reading and understanding how we deal with and overcome pain in our lives.

The days are starting to cool off, I have heard rumors of pumpkin flavored M&Ms, and my Pinterest main page is filled with Autumn décor and soup recipes.  All of this tells me that, indeed, Fall is before us.  Like so many, I love Fall, and as I shared a couple of weeks ago, I see the start of Fall as an opportunity to press the restart button.  After taking a breath over Summer, the Fall marks a chance to shift and change things. 

ack was conceived three years ago today. Or at least this is the day I count as his conception date. Before you signal the OVERSHARE alarm, let me explain. Three years ago today, we did our embryo transfer. As I shared in an earlier post, we struggled to get pregnant for some time. We went through the emotional roller coaster of infertility, doctors’ appointments, unanswered questions, and passing months.

I have never been big on clubs.  They simply have never appealed to me until I came upon a club that kept denying me membership.  There is one club that no matter how much you want to be in it, no matter how hard you try to join, membership is determined by one sole requirement:  The Motherhood Club. Several years ago, my husband and I spent Mother’s Day with his parents.

I love quotes.  I collect them like some people collect coins or shells.  A few months ago I stumbled across a magnet with the following on it:

 Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade wind in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.

Long before I was a counselor or teacher or wife or mother, I was a singer.  There have been so many years and life experiences since then that it is almost hard to remember that period.  What I do remember very clearly, though, is how much I enjoyed my voice lessons.  Truth be told, I enjoyed the voice lessons more than I enjoyed performing for it was in the lesson that you really grew as a musician.

The summer after my freshman year of college I drove from Atlanta to Aspen with a friend of mine.  I had never driven cross-country, and have not since, so this is my lone example of the “epic” road trip.  Although a good trip, it was not all that epic- no great stories of mishap or tomfoolery.  We were on a tight time schedule so there was no sightseeing.