As soon as Halloween jack-o-lanterns and Freddy Kreuger costumes reappear and fade away, retail stores whip out giant inflatable Santas, orange, brown, and red turkey decorations, and cornucopias. Kids are making those hand-drawn turkeys in school and wearing construction paper pilgrim hats. The leaves are gone, and snow might be on the ground (except in most of the South). For most, these sights bring a small rush of, “Yes! It’s the holidays!!!” For others, myself and millions of retail workers included, it’s a feeling of dread. “Crap, it’s the holidays.” The time that’s supposed to be ...
boundaries
My Reading List vs. My Netflix List
I know that most people settle in and watch scary and Halloween themed movies each October. I didn't this year, because I'm focusing on growth and learning. My spooky reading list has come to an end. I really enjoyed every book I read in October. If you forgot, they were It’s Not All Downhill From Here by Terri McMillan, Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius, and Welcome to Your Crisis by Laura Day. I chose these instead of my regulars: The Shining, Halloweentown, and Hocus Pocus. I gotta say, I really enjoyed It’s Not All Downhill From Here. I love pretty much anything Terri McMillan writes. This ...
It’s been a year since my trauma
I wrote an open letter to my trauma anniversaries. I’ve done a lot of growing and inner work in the last year. Thankfully, I am a better and stronger person now. To my trauma anniversaries, Each month of every year, I am paralyzed by you. The anniversaries have stacked up quite a bit over the last thirty years. Every few weeks, a new anniversary creeps from its hiding place in my mind, down my central nervous system, and has life breathed into it again. Many times, I don’t know what it is that has me anxious, angry, and depressed until I look at a calendar. When I put two and two ...
Value Your Relationship With Yourself
In this blog, we talk a lot about relationships with others, but what about the most important relationship? The person we see in the mirror every day is our companion for life. This post is going to be full of journal prompts. Begin with these questions below. Take a few minutes and answer honestly: Are you in a healthy relationship with yourself?How do you feel about your body?What about the way you speak to yourself internally?In what ways do upkeep your relationship with yourself?Is there room for improvement? In my 30-Day Breakup Recovery Journal, a section is dedicated to you and ...
How I Found Empowerment Through Gratitude
Happy Sunday! Wow, we’re already more than halfway through September. I took a mental health break and got some sunshine and rest. That also resulted in a gnarly jellyfish sting. I’ve never had one before, and I can’t say that I enjoy it. My affirmation from the last post, I choose myself, even if others refuse to, was very impactful. I needed to do some serious self-care after reaching the acceptance portion of my broken engagement. I thought I had reached it before, but the final stage meant actively choosing myself by standing up for myself. The strength to leave the past where it was ...
I Hit the Point of No Return
Earlier in the summer, I woke up with glee because I thought I had moved on from my previous relationship. It was my first time waking up and going to bed without thinking about my ex. I was focused on my books, my plans for my blogs, and my dreams of future goals. It was an exhilarating moment. What I didn’t know is that there are levels to moving on: First, there’s the stage that I was excited to be in earlier this summer.We can call that the beginning to move on. You’re feeling good, thinking about other things, entertaining the idea of casual dating.Then there’s the “Hm, maybe we can ...
