How many times have you told yourself that you're a good mom/dad or a bad mom/dad? You've probably done it a lot--and if you are like me, you are usually saying to yourself that you aren't good enough. The thought of being a good parent or a bad parent is not very useful. First, who… Continue reading Forget about being a good or bad parent . . .
Category: essay
Pain can be good
In the city finals course during an episode of American Ninja Warriors last year, Jessie Graff was trying to finish the course but was exhausted and didn't have the strength to finish. She fell, knowing she had reached her limit. But throughout it all, she was smiling. When asked about it during the interview after… Continue reading Pain can be good
It’s okay to make a decision even if you are uncertain
Recently, I've been making some decisions about my life. If you know me well, you know I am not the most decisive person in the world. I feel a lot of uncertainty sometimes, and it's difficult for me to make a decision. Part of this is that I see pros and cons without being able… Continue reading It’s okay to make a decision even if you are uncertain
Happily Ever After
And they lived happily ever after . . . It's the ending to children's stories, and it's of course entirely untrue. They don't live happily ever after, because they will eventually die. That's life. Coming-of-age stories end with the main character supposedly finding out who they are and starting on the direction they will continue… Continue reading Happily Ever After
Life is not a roller coaster
I have often thought that life was like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs. And then I realized one day that life isn't a roller coaster at all. I'm not simply heading up or down--it's way more complex than that. It's a journey, taking lots of different paths. When it snows, the… Continue reading Life is not a roller coaster
enjoying the pain
This is hard to explain, but I will try. Probably my whole life, I have hated feeling certain things: anger, guilt, confusion, and discouragement. I would try to avoid feeling, but you know what happens when you try not to feel something? You might end up feeling it a lot more intensely. So because I hate… Continue reading enjoying the pain
A new decade
I have a significant birthday coming up--only significant because we have ten fingers on our hands and therefore we have a base-ten system and we get fascinated with decades. If we were using a base-twelve system, there would be nothing significant about my birthday at all. But here we are. I'm entering a new decade… Continue reading A new decade
I don’t know
Recently, I was teaching a lesson in church and someone commenting mentioned that even though she was sharing advice, she didn't feel like she had it all figured out. I feel the same way a lot. If you could look into my day-to-day operations, you would know that I do not have it all together… Continue reading I don’t know
Changing Passions
I've changed a lot over the years: At one point when I was young, I wanted to work with animals when I grew up because I loved animals so much. I grew up, and I don't even like animals very much anymore. I also thought I would write and publish young adult novels. I used to… Continue reading Changing Passions
Happiness
Happiness is not dependent on circumstance. Every other time we've moved, we really wanted to move. We moved after months of job searching, or after living with my parents, or after living in places we didn't like. But this last time, while we felt like it was time to move, we liked the life we… Continue reading Happiness