Another story in my Tough Cookie life is about how my first love stalked me. The stalker of this true story is Spyboots. Some synonyms for stalker are narcissist, ego-maniac, sneak, lurker, prowler, harasser, persecutor, or cold-hearted snake. A stalker is a person who pursues… Read More »My First Love Stalked Me
Goodbye Childhood Trauma Hello Adult Drama is a post about how your childhood experiences influence the way you make decisions as an adult. The power of traumatic childhoods is an invisible inner force that follows you into adulthood. What we grew up in, we think… Read More »Goodbye Childhood Trauma Hello Adult Drama
These are my memories about my mom’s mental illness secret that became unmanageable after my father’s sudden passing. I find a protective numbness takes over when extreme trauma invades your life. My mind will only accept deep grief in tiny pieces; in hindsight, my mother’s… Read More »Mental Illness Mom’s Secret
This post is all about sass and solutions to solve the Drama Dudes & Drama Dames dilemma. There is one addiction that few people acknowledge-drama. None of us escape. They stalk us in our families, friendships, and work environments. If you are a kind person… Read More »Drama Dudes & Drama Dames
Imagine your perfectly healthy child (or grandchild) is four years old. On Friday, you pick them up from childcare, and they complain about a stiff neck. That fateful day began our journey with sorrow management. They wake up several times during the night. Saturday you… Read More »Sorrow Management
These memories I share today are deeply personal and not meant to dishonor my mother and father. I write about them with the hope of helping anyone who is being abused or someone who is the abuser. This story is about generational trauma and being… Read More »Generational Trauma Entrepreneur
Tom Bird of Sedona, Arizona, taught the best writing class I ever experienced about chained elephants and limiting beliefs. I’ve had the good fortune of spending time in Sedona on three occasions. It is a unique red rock country known for strong energy vortexes, healing,… Read More »Chained Elephants
Self-Protection Self-protection and emotional neglect are hard to understand when you are a kid. Deb and I were on our own when it came to doing homework. Sometimes Dad took us to the Bellwood Public Library when we had to do written reports and needed… Read More »Supper To Self-Protection
Writers are observers. Is this just a coincidence? My observations support the following: all the divorced women I know pursued a pet instead of another husband. I was no exception. I adopted Mickie the Mini-Pin during one of the saddest times of my life. The… Read More »Mini-Pin Rescue
From the womb, until it is time to launch into the great beyond, we all need safe places to escape being emotionally hurt, physically frightened, feeling alone, and endlessly grieving loved ones. Those safety places can be a favorite spot outdoors, a peaceful memory that… Read More »Safe Places