This post features the relationship I had with my father. He was the dad I loved but never understood because of his hidden binge drinking. A movie about my birth family would be The Sad House of Blended Strangers, where none of us genuinely knew… Read More »The Dad I Loved But Never Understood
Dad’s Secret This is my personal experience of being raised by a father with a high functioning drinking problem. In my post, Supper To Self-Protection, I wrote about my dad always using breath mints and vanishing to the garage for the rest of the evening… Read More »High Functioning Alcoholism
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
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
I remember writing my first rescue story when I was eight. The title was Mr. Skunk Receives a Christmas. It was a tale of hope for those feeling less than and left out. “No one wanted to spend time and have fun with Mr. Skunk.… Read More »Rescue From Less Than
I’m not sure who had more rules-my mom or the Baptists. She had an identical twin sister. My mom was Paulene; her sis was Darlene. Deb and I often called her “Paul.” This was Life According to Paul’s Rules: Remember, we were still kids, not… Read More »Paul’s Rules
My son lived with a physical disability and an incurable disease. He taught me how to celebrate life with a tear and a smile on our journey. In my teens, I dreamed about making a living as a poet. During a visit to the library,… Read More »A Tear And A Smile
My parents met at a bar in Bellwood where my dad worked a second job. He was the bartender. His full-time employment was being a mechanic and the Fleet Superintendent for Goldblatt’s Department Store delivery trucks. Thinking out loud: what do people mostly share after… Read More »The Baptists