On Being Temporarily Absent
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. …...
View ArticleLate, As Usual
I will be late to my own funeral. It’s not like if we make a bet on that right now we could settle up at the time (cuz it’ll be my funeral and all), so you’ll just have to take … Continue reading →
View ArticleWork
My daughter’s stay in the psych ward (her first stay, at least) was five days. Yet it seemed interminable and exhausting to me. I can only imagine how it must have felt to her. While my daughter was...
View ArticleI’m Not Qualified
Seen online today: a job posting for a Head Lice Removal Technician. Really? There is such a thing as that? Who knew? (Also, yuck.) Not one to pass by such an intriguing heading, I had to click …...
View ArticleOn Thin Ice
The weeks following my daughter’s release from her first mental health hold were a tenuous mix of hope and dread. I was hopeful the change of medication would help stabilize her, and at the same time I...
View ArticleWarrior Moms
We met for coffee. Conversation came easily as we shared stories. She is a courageous woman, a mother whose only son took his own life and left her with deep heartache and a brave new quest. She is...
View ArticleBlog For Mental Health 2014 Project
Sometimes I read something that steals my breath, steels my convictions, and reminds me that there is redemption in every story, that beauty can come from the ashes of despair. This is why I write...
View ArticleWe Couldn’t Have Known
He couldn’t have known. He was just being a good guy, a gracious manager who gave us permission to use the back room of the restaurant for a family gathering. Of course a restaurant wants patrons, and...
View ArticleA Tough Task
“Yes. I’m her mother. Can I help you?” I got the call while I was sitting in the car outside my younger daughter’s middle school. I’d left work, picked my older daughter up at her high school, and...
View ArticleThat Kind of Breaking
The guidance counselor was kind and calm. Anyone who can maintain those two qualities while in the confines of a public middle school all day has my immediate respect. I sat and listened as he began to...
View Article