Encouragement for the Codependent
Twelve years ago, I wrote a post called Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes. Although I published it in 2014, it was really about a journey that began in 2005. I was in the middle of learning some of the hardest lessons of my life, and writing helped me make sense of them. Looking back now,... Continue Reading →
Peace isn't the only gift healing has given me. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly grateful for the peace I've found. There was a time in my life when I wasn't sure I would ever experience it. But when I sat down to write this post, I realized that peace isn't the only gift my... Continue Reading →
For most of my life, I felt like I needed permission. Permission to go somewhere. Permission to buy something. Permission to take up space. Permission to do things that made me happy. Even when nobody was stopping me, guilt often was. I worried about being an inconvenience. I worried about asking for too much. I... Continue Reading →
There was a time in my life when I was constantly looking outside of myself for what I needed. I wanted someone to tell me I was doing the right thing. I wanted reassurance that everything would be okay. I wanted someone to make the hard decisions easier, the painful moments less painful, and the... Continue Reading →
For a long time, I didn’t want to feel everything. There were some days, I didn't want to feel anything! If something hurt, I tried to move past it quickly. If something made me uncomfortable, I pushed it aside. I told myself to stay strong, to keep going, to not let emotions slow me down.... Continue Reading →
Healing doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. It’s not always a breakthrough moment or a big shift that changes everything overnight. More often, it’s quiet. Subtle. A series of small choices that slowly begin to feel different over time. It’s the moments when you pause instead of push. When you listen instead... Continue Reading →
Asking for help didn’t come naturally to me. For a long time, I believed I should be able to handle everything on my own. I told myself I didn’t need help. That I had it under control. That I could figure it out if I just tried hard enough. Looking back, I can see it... Continue Reading →
Saying no didn’t always come easily to me. For a long time, I believed that saying yes meant I was being helpful, supportive, and dependable. It meant I was showing up for others in the way I thought I was supposed to. So I said yes. Even when I was tired.Even when I didn’t have... Continue Reading →
Rest used to feel like something I had to earn. If I worked hard enough, did enough, showed up for everyone, then maybe I could take a break. Maybe then I could slow down without feeling guilty. But even in moments of rest, my mind didn’t always rest. There was always something else I should... Continue Reading →
Sometimes the hardest part of healing isn’t knowing what to do next. It’s finding the courage to let go of what we’ve been holding onto. For a long time, I didn’t realize how tightly I was holding on to things that were weighing me down. Old hurts. Expectations. The need to fix everything. The belief... Continue Reading →
The friends who stay become part of how we survive and grow. Some friendships begin quietly. No big moment. No dramatic story. Just two kids who happen to find each other and somehow keep choosing each other year after year. My best friend and I have been walking through life together since we were 12... Continue Reading →
Time is moving way too fast for my comfort lately. Somehow, we are already well into February and I am still wondering where January even went. It feels like I blinked and suddenly a whole month disappeared. My granddaughter will be 17 in less than two weeks, and honestly, that one stops me in my... Continue Reading →
Journey On Strong 