Family – A Blog Exploring the Human Experience

The slippery slope: How I lost myself, and managed to climb out: Part 3

I have been struggling for a few months to push myself to write the final portion of this post, as it is something difficult for me to even speak about with those I love, much less broadcast to the world. But something inside me tells me that it is necessary for the next step inContinue reading “The slippery slope: How I lost myself, and managed to climb out: Part 3”

Finding the Christmas Spirit

For many years, Christmas meant to me rushing around, trying to figure out what everyone would want to be given to make them happy. It was about spending all day cooking, tramping out in the yard to set up lights in the bitter cold, and feeling guilty about not doing enough. I have realized IContinue reading “Finding the Christmas Spirit”

Painting adventures: Anyone can Paint!

I started painting about 10 years ago, with the assistance of the beloved Bob Ross and the encouragement of my husband. I always admired the art of those around me and wished I had those talents, but my husband saw more in me than I did. He surprised me one Christmas with oil painting suppliesContinue reading “Painting adventures: Anyone can Paint!”

The slippery slope: How I lost myself, and managed to climb out: Part One

I have long grappled with whether I should tell the story of how I fell down the slippery slope, getting into an emotionally abusive relationship and allowing myself to get groomed into doing things I never would have imagined allowing. But I have realized that even though it may be painful, my story may helpContinue reading “The slippery slope: How I lost myself, and managed to climb out: Part One”

The ingredients of love: Lessons taught by my grandmother

I loved the yellow stool my grandmother kept in her laundry room. It was about as tall as my five-year old self but had steps that folded into it; when they were flipped out then it gave me a way to scramble up and do the important job of assisting my grandmother with baking. MyContinue reading “The ingredients of love: Lessons taught by my grandmother”

An unsung hero

One of my earliest memories was riding in the back of a car, looking through the rear window as the city lights receded behind me. I was glad they were gone because now my 10 month old sister had stopped screaming. She must not have been outside at night before, because for some reason sheContinue reading “An unsung hero”