"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world." ~ Dead Poets Society
Part IV: Carolina I know my kids blame me for many things and probably think I am the worst mom. But what they do not know is what I dealt with in my own childhood and why I am so emotionally disconnected from the world. I watched my mother get abused up until the very [...]
Part III: Aunt Lori My sister always had a horrendous track record with men. Not saying I am perfect, but my sister just knows how to pick them. When we were younger, she would pick out the worst of the worst. The men who walked around like the whole world needed to bow before them [...]
Part II: Cameron I was rarely home anymore. I spent most of time at Jon's house. “Hey bro, are you coming over to my house for Thanksgiving?” Jon asked excitedly. “Not sure yet, I know my mom is going to make lots of food. Not like anyone would come. No one comes over our house [...]
Part I: Brooke I was 5 years old when I first heard Mommy and Daddy fight. I was in the living room playing with my barbie dolls when I heard something shatter in the kitchen. Daddy was angry again as I sat there and waited for Mommy to make me my macaroni and cheese. He [...]
She has struggled to breathe. Suffocating, choking on air. Beating herself up for so long. Her body has weathered the storm that has hovered over her for the past few years. She has pushed people away to save them the heartache of stepping into her world. She is still learning how to love and forgive [...]
The imperious sound of forks clinking against the china plates is what she hated most as a child. They would have family dinners and not speak to one another. Her siblings spent most of their time at their friends’ houses, and her parents always fought. It was rare eye contact was made and silence would [...]
I was in the first grade when it all happened. It was a typical day for me as it was for everyone else too. I remember it being a crisp morning in the Fall. The leaves on the trees were a plethora of colors and I remember the crinkling sound they made when I walked [...]
Kenzie’s Mom: I walked into the hospital. The long corridor to the set of elevators seemed never ending. It was the same routine. Ground floor elevator to the 3rd floor. It was always an unbelievably long wait and it would make me anxious. I was exhausted. My legs could barely carry me. I ran home [...]
You were rotting away in the hospital, and what were we doing? Celebrating Christmas Eve. What type of people were we? He stood with you as the ventilators breathed for you. He was bone tired. You could see it in his face. The lack of food and sleep had gotten to him. He refused to [...]
It was your 80th birthday and it was the first time I had ever seen you cry. The family gathered around the dinner table in your apartment, not sure how we all managed to fit in there, but we made it work. We had family come up in from Puerto Rico. We all knew the [...]
