The Landmark

The first time I processed the words spoken to me on the playground was a day I will never forget. At College Street Elementary School, I heard the chants:“They are not your real parents.” During that same school year, a letter was passed around during a church service that read, “Iris is a Cabbage Patch […]

Walking in my bedroom on the first Saturday of this year forced me to keep a promise I made to myself months earlier. There were two boxes tucked in the corner that I had to conquer. After the loss of David, I relocated to my hometown of Clinton. Moving is usually not fun, but moving […]

I knew, but nothing had been confirmed, so two weeks after my father’s passing, I asked my sister for the exact time of his death. I had an idea that when she shared the time, I would be able to pinpoint where I was around that moment that will forever be remembered as the day […]

Are you ever prepared for the reminders of a story that didn’t end as you planned? I put all the boundaries and laid a framework to guard my heart and protect my emotions as we prepared for my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I attended a grief support group to learn about surviving […]

Have you ever seen a person wearing a t-shirt indicating they were in pain? You know the kind of t-shirt that boldly states the wearer is “Fabulous at 40” or “Fierce & 50” –those t-shirts are attention grabbers, but I’ve never seen a t-shirt that glorifies or brings attention to a person’s pain.

Once while traveling in Virginia, I passed a road sign that intrigued me and made me wonder about the people who dwelled there. 

The sign was an exit for Hurt, Virginia. As I looked at the sign, I thought: “What kind of people live in Hurt?”