Duck Beach Dreams: When Childhood Expectations Meet Marriage Reality

At the Outer Banks beach house where Charming vacationed as a child, I realized I'd been planning my future children's lives based on my own childhood. Sometimes home isn't a place—it's a person.

Why My Timeline for Life Keeps Looking Like a Playdough Giraffe

I planned to marry at 22 and have kids by 28, just like my mom. Here's what Einstein's theory of relativity taught me about trying to control time—and why my evening glory bloomed in October.

From Fort Monroe Beach to Duck Methodist Church: Finding Our Perfect Wedding

Charming proposed again with my real ring on a pier in the Outer Banks, then we found the white church with a steeple I'd dreamed of since childhood. Sometimes God writes fairy tale endings in the most perfect settings.

Why I Stopped Waiting for My Life to Begin: Lessons from an Engagement

When you realize you want to spend forever with someone, you want forever to start now. But what if the waiting room is actually part of the gift?