Grief Can Be Paralyzing I knew for weeks it was coming. That day. That night. It was going to be the anniversary, one year since the fateful night my daughter’s husband called. The call was to inform me he and my daughter had decided I could no longer have any…

Realizing You No Longer Love Your Child But You Don't Care This didn’t feel like a revelation to me. In fact, I felt nothing at all. Just shrugged my shoulders and continued cleaning up the kitchen. How could you not love your child? A year ago I would have thought…

Or maybe approachable would be a better description. — I wrote a story recently that received more views and reads than I normally get. I’m glad it did not just because it made me enough money to cover a couple of bills, but because the topic was important. It wasn’t about me. It was about the poor way in…

Using a lifetime of learned coping behaviors and advocating for yourself in our broken healthcare system. — Sometimes it seems as though you’re on a roll. The heavens are reigning sunbeams down upon you. You feel happy, content, and warm. Ahead, you see only clear, blue skies. Seemingly nothing can go wrong in the foreseeable future. Granted, that’s not been my lot in recent years, but I’ve…

It just took connecting a few thoughts. — I’m not sure why I took several weeks off of Medium, because I really enjoy it. It doesn’t matter if I’m writing or not, I enjoy reading the thoughts and experiences of fellow writers. It wasn’t one particular reason, although one situation preoccupied my thoughts and caused me considerable stress…

His name is Major Brian Hargis — There is so much wrong here I had to think long and hard about where, and how, to begin this article. There’s no shortage of material to work with. I’m just going to write this one out. Anyone who has ever served in the military, or been closely associated with…

Because my mom didn’t Every year on Father’s Day I find it hard to push memories of my father away from my thoughts. Not that I want to. …

I didn’t care if the line built up behind me — When I left my marriage 27 months ago I knew I would need to closely watch my money. However, I felt if I was careful I could manage. That’s no longer the case. I literally don’t have enough money to live on. There are several reasons for this. It was…

The complacency of grief and the sucker punches it delivers I was… doing better I mean. So much so, that I was quite content to allow myself to believe I had succeeded in numbing myself to the pain my daughter and her husband inflicted on me. The pain of a…