On Her 1st Heavenly Birthday This is our first birthday without you. It’s been just a few months since we last spoke in person. I try to not think about our last few days together — how I held it together so I could make decisions to prolong your comfort…

by Guest Author Oli Pettigrew — I’ve been a broken record on Ted Lasso since the moment I heard it was being released. Jason Sudeikis’s mustachioed coach had been cracking me up for a while thanks to a couple of viral commercials I would often rewatch on Youtube. I thought we were in for a fun…

Dealing with My Grief — Before I even got up today I knew this was going to be a tough day. I got dressed and went about my morning routine just because. I fed the dogs, the cat, the fish, and turned my thoughts to my son, still sleeping in his room. It’s only 8am…

In all its unexpected forms. — Today I was most amused by a Facebook post by a classmate of mine in which she shared several photos from a supposed recent men’s fashion week. The photos were of a men’s fashion show where the male models were wearing all sorts of getup from women’s clothing articles like…

Perspective is Everything — I knew my son was different before his first birthday. Though he hit all the milestones, Ewan scooted on the floor instead of crawled, and never was a disagreeable child. Toys were flown through the air as if they were all airplanes, and the wheels of toy cars, in particular…

I’ve been called worse, but this time it was totally unprovoked. — A funny thing happened at the grocery store today. Here’s the setting: I’m a mid-40’s woman of means living in a rural part of Phoenix Arizona. I’ve never had a problem with anyone in any way. No raucous disputes with the neighbors. I never feed the trolls on the internet…

The breath before the storm. — Today is the day before the storm. In this house, only two are American citizens, and only one is of legal age to vote. I am that voter. I can report in no uncertain terms the levels of anxiety in this house. My husband, who is a UK citizen, has…

Take It From a Former Professional Model — I recently retired from being a professional model. I was represented by prestigious modeling agencies all over the world. I traveled extensively, working in many different countries and their fashion capitals. For twenty-five years I ate (virtually nothing), slept (mostly on airplanes), and breathed (lots of second-hand smoke) modeling. So…

And The Audacious Solution to Save It — This was it. I was done. I was newly married less than two years and I was already FED UP. My husband would snap at me. I would then criticize him back. We argued constantly. I felt angry all the time, so I cried all the time. …