Mom, the holidays are approaching and I need you. The first year you were gone was a blur. The second was a hectic mix of chaos and heartbreak. This year, it’s getting real. It’s getting undeniable. There’s a turkey to make and dinners to plan and I’m lost without you. I never expected to be the kind of adult that hosted these gatherings without you.…

I’m sitting here, in a vacant aisle at the grocery store, crying. Somehow the contents of my cart made shopping unbearable. The representation of upcoming holidays and upcoming traditions was overwhelmingly evident. Somehow the items of this shopping cart have me aching for my mother. Yearning for her in yet another new and unexpected way. Suddenly my to-do list resembles the one she used to…

It was love at first sight, but it wasn’t like you see in the movies. It was calm. It was tearful, yet the majority of the emotion was happening deep within my heart and soul. A place no-one could see and feel, but me. I took one look; one anxious look and I was smitten. I was captivated by the miracle you were and the…

After earning my bachelor’s degree I immediately began a graduate program at a very small university in Indiana. The first day I nervously entered the classroom and immediately noticed something unique about the people that filled the classroom. Sitting in that room were twenty-ish diverse and very different students. This wasn’t the typical college classroom.  During the first few weeks of our program we were…

My daughter approached me with homework. It was a simple project. “Write about what you want to be when you grow up.”  An assignment I’m sure almost every parent has seen at least once in their child’s stack of to-do’s.  This time, it was different.  My sweet girl started brainstorming and writing her thoughts down on paper. I let her get lost in ideas and…