I created a photo album of our entire relationship to answer one question: Was he worth waiting for? Sometimes the hardest conversations happen with ourselves first.
Personal Growth
Why I Never Graduated from the College I Loved
Thirteen years later, I finally returned to Wheaton with the man I'd met there as strangers. Here's what I learned about the scars that build character and the dreams we bury too soon.
The Evening Glories Need Untangling—But First I Have to Learn to Stop Fixing Everything
In twilight's storm, I resist untangling vines that double over themselves. My need to fix things—phones, weddings, people—is almost palpable. I couldn't sit in church service; I had to be in the AV booth with control. Sometimes facing worry means not taking action. Sometimes you sit still with tangled vines and wait for inspiration.
My AWANA Leader’s Daughter Told Me to End the Volume—Well, I’m Renaming It
Deb saw me at five with her picture on my kindergarten poster. Now, decades later, she's reading my blog and suggests I close this volume. But when your vegetable garden finally starts yielding bounty, you don't stop tending it—you just change what you call it from "I Used to Be" to "I Am."
The Old Maid’s Golf Lesson: What My Student Taught Me About Self-Love
A brilliant student's blog post about wanting to be seen as beautiful and smart made me face my own fear: what if people see me for who I really am? Then a golf game with family taught me to remember only the good hits.
Second Chances and Fresh Canvases: Painting a New Life After Divorce
A paint-and-sip date night became an unexpected metaphor for marriage, failure, and the grace of starting over. Sometimes you need to paint an entirely different picture.
Trading Wedding Rings for a Garden: Finding Beauty After Divorce
At my friend's wedding, I arranged flowers while wrestling with memories of my own failed marriage. Sometimes the most beautiful arrangements come from broken things.
The Piano I Left Behind and the Love I Found Again
I left our piano with my ex-husband because playing it without him felt like a lie. Seven years later, at a wedding with someone new, I discovered what second chances really mean.
Playing LIFE with My Boyfriend Taught Me What’s Missing: There’s No Divorce in Board Games
I sued Charming three times and still felt jealous of his blue-peg children. In Hasbro's LIFE, marriage is guaranteed—a mandatory stop for all players. But neither of us had instructions for when real marriages bite the dust. Maybe that's why we keep playing: we still have a chance to get it right.
Missing Golf Balls, Growing Cucumbers, and the Size 8 Dress That Changed Everything
I can't hit a golf ball to save my life, but I squeezed into that bridesmaid dress. Sometimes thriving means accepting you're terrible at Top Golf while celebrating the herbs finally sprouting in your garden.
Writer's Growth 