For years, I doubted myself.

My strength, my confidence, and my ability to adapt to change.

I did not stay because that is what I wanted,

I stayed because I didn't think I was capable

Didn't think I was deserving

Didn't think life had more to offer.

I took the harsh words and the loneliness

While crying alone in the bathroom.

But one spark of courage landed me in a sea of change.

The clarity ...

Laying in bed on a calm Sunday morning, listening to that soft trickle of a rain storm hitting the pavement just outside my window. My partner’s cologne lingers in the warm sheets surrounding my body; butterflies fill my stomach as I breathe in his scent. He shifts next to me, still sleeping at this early hour. The sun is just starting to peak through the blinds, and I’m alone with my thoughts. My...

I think part of me thought we could push through any obstacle in our way. Love conquers all right? It sure did at 18 and it even mostly did at 22. 26 is different though. Love isn’t enough to help keep a clean house or to stop the fighting. Making up doesn’t feel the same anymore. I don’t remember the last time I looked in your eyes and actually saw you; the you at 18 where your eyes could make me...

My name is Lucille and in this picture of my dearest friends, I am the one in red. The women in this picture have my entire heart. Since I lost my late husband, Albert, they are all I have left in this world. Albert and I were not blessed with children of our own, but we have found ways to spread our love through friends younger than us. Stephanie, the woman in stripes, lost her parents when she w...

The cold drip of a snowflake melting down my warm cheek. The crunch of frozen grass as I sit up to look around. A dark sky surrounding me, making it hard to see all that is around. As my eyes adjust, I see that I am outside somewhere in an open field. There is just enough light from the stars to watch the snowflakes land on the ground. My eyes search for anything that I can call familiar. Somethin...