I asked AI to draw me as a character. Not a polished portrait. Not a glamorous headshot. Not one of those overly filtered “you but prettier” fantasy images. I wanted the equivalent of an illustrator’s sketchbook page. Messy. Layered. Personal. The kind of page where someone has been studying a character long enough that they…
My dad died when I was 26. Almost exactly ten years later, my mom died too. I was 36. When Dad died, I turned to alcohol. When Mom died, I turned to therapy. A lot of things went into those choices. With Dad, I was only 26. Way too young to lose a parent. It…
I had a moment today. I was outside with my dogs when I saw Siouxsie playing with something. She was picking up little chunks of something (pieces of sticks) and tossing them in the air for herself to chase. This reminded me of our family dog, Kona. Kona used to stand on her back…
People started calling me a leader long before I ever saw myself that way. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with that word, and nobody really warns you about it. Opting Out Wasn’t an Option Growing up, my family was always super involved in church, so it’s probably no surprise I somehow ended up…
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver On July 1st of this year, I was laid off. We had recently been acquired, and with the transition and restructuring, my position was eliminated. I let myself mope for a few days, catch my breath,…