Change seems to be the only constant in my life. Maybe change has always been a constant, but it usually happens so fluidly that I rarely notice it. Change is necessary to prevent monotony and boredom with life. Change keeps me aware that I am alive. Change exists on a sliding scale like a spectrum […]
Yesterday, I went to do a little self-care at a local nail salon. The young woman who checked me in was so courteous. She was so hospitable that I took notice of her and I paid close attention to how she interacted with other folks in the salon. Her grace and kindness came as easy […]
Daddy used to say, “Ooowee, Lola, Buddy made that horn talk!” My daddy called my brother Buddy and almost everyone else called my brother “Butch.” Although my brother answered to at least two nicknames, the name Mama gave him was Charles which made my brother a junior. People called my brother “Cooper, Jr” in order […]
When I was a child, I heard that Santa Claus lived at the North Pole with Mrs. Claus. Reportedly, Santa had a workshop in which elves made toys. I thought the elves lived at the North Pole with Mr. and Mrs. Claus until events of recent years gave me reason to doubt my theory. A […]
A few months ago on a first Sunday morning I sat on the pew in church marveling about the innovation of the communion cup. So, I took a picture of my communion cup because I knew that I might explore this wondrous moment further at some point in the future. As I sat looking at […]
As I continued to engage in this conversation about my life with a sister living with a mental illness, I was reminded that my understanding was limited with regard to the science of mental illness. My perspective always came from the point of view of a family member forced to play a real-time game that […]
Last Sunday was Easter Sunday and somewhere in a town in America there were well-rehearsed Easter speeches and resurrection reenactments being performed. I am sure there were well-dressed children in pastel colored clothing too. I can envision girls in dresses with lace and ruffles and boys in suits with knotted ties. Last Sunday morning, church […]
When I made the decision to write the first blog post about my experiences dealing with mental illness, I thought that single blog post would be the alpha and the omega – my beginning and my end. I also thought that I would be able to maintain my plan to post one new blog entry […]
Since my book was published in September 2015, some people have read the introduction and asked when I would write more about growing up with a family member living with a mental illness. I assured them that I would write about it at some point, but I needed to sort out how to do that […]
As I consider spending part of spring break traveling with my grown children, I had reflections of times when I prepared for travel with them when they were young children. Traveling with young children often proved to be quite the adventure. And when the person in charge of packing the family for the trips was […]