I created a blog about survival with a mission to help people. Because I survived all the top five most stressful and life-changing events, I earned the nickname Tough Cookie. Also, my life includes a diagnosis of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Since I was eight, I learned how writing could heal the hurt and disappointment on the way to Find Your Giants and Claim Your Walls!
About two years after Mom passed away in her sleep, I turned to my Aunt Dolores in my desperation to meet my lingering sorrow and fears head-on. She lived in Florida and I was in Albuquerque. My aunt sent the letter that saved my life.… Read More »The Letter That Saved My Life
The mission of How To Survive After Finding A Loved One’s Body and each of my stories is to show what happened to me, share what I learned, and encourage others to keep moving forward from life’s most unexpected challenges. As I wrote about in… Read More »How To Survive After Finding A Loved One’s Body
Unspeakable Secrets and Forgiveness collided. Everything came undone when I thought our family finally had it all. The visual of seeing my mom’s lifeless body in bed completely overtook my ability to function. I desperately wanted to remember that she passed away peacefully in her… Read More »Unspeakable Secrets And Forgiveness
This story from our fixer-upper days, Sledgehammers and Silent Night, illuminates our challenges. Some were visible, and one required a 911 call. Sledgehammers We had lived in our house for about ten days. Pete was worn out and home sick with the flu. He made… Read More »Sledgehammers And Silent Night
Fixer Upper Part Two is a cautionary blog story about fixer-uppers, home ownership, missed closing dates, red-tagged appliances, hiring an attorney, and stress. Fixer Upper NDE (Near Divorce Experience) is part one. If this is your first visit to my website, you can read that… Read More »Fixer Upper Part Two
Near Divorce Experience You might not be familiar with the acronym NDE (Near Death Experience). In a previous post, Entrances And Exits, The Fun Fuller Family began looking for a new home. But in this blog story about buying a fixer-upper house with a baby,… Read More »Fixer Upper NDE
Camping therapy is available to all who seek freedom, connection, sanity, and happiness. It is the respite that also elevates our survival of the unknown and problem-solving skills. Since survival on all levels is the focus of my Tough Cookie tales, read on to find… Read More »Camping Therapy
These are my thoughts about how to live and survive with passion and purpose year to year. At the end of every year, I review the daily entries in my 6″x8″ lined planner. I think most of us forget what happens from day to day,… Read More »How To Survive With Passion And Purpose
Entrances When one life arrives, another departs. Have you ever heard that expression? Is that the spiritual order of things? An eye for an eye? A life for a life? Is that one of the Laws of the Universe? I was certain Hayes had been… Read More »Entrances And Exits
Labor Begins This post is dedicated to all the women who have given birth and to motherhood that demands our best selves to show up every day. Six days after our last checkup, I was in bed wondering how Pete’s mom was doing back in… Read More »The Birth Connection