Much like the typical Midwestern family, my family went camping a lot when I was younger. I loved camping and a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was a Girl Scout starting at the age of 5, so my inner adventurer was alive and well, but also because I was an only child who grew up with a house full of boys next door. […]
I lived abroad in Palermo, Sicily for three and a half months, one summer in college. I was traveling to be a nanny, and was paired with a host family: Parents, Marino and Angela and their three year old boy, Aldo; also known as the spawn of Satan. (Yes, he was that bad! Another story for another time.) In retrospect, my host family was phenomenal. They were kind to me, treated me well and made sure I had anything I needed. For instance, the first full day I was there, Marino made sure that […]
Since I returned from Core Peer Support Training, I’ve enrolled in the Certified Recovery Support Specialist Competency Training, which takes place over three days, spanning three months, in Springfield. I pack my lunch, and a backpack of class supplies and trek over there for the day. It’s about an hour and a half away from our house, so it makes for an ok day trip. Pretty fool-proof, right? – WRONG – […]
We’ve talked about holiday traditions, and the way that we’re accustomed to celebrating certain holidays. Growing up, for me the 4th of July always included Parades, Picnics, Music & Fireworks. The most important aspect for me, as usual, is Family! As long as I was with those that I loved, all of those elements were just icing on the holiday cake. But then there are times when something changes. What happens when a holiday doesn’t go the way you plan? What happens when the routine is disrupted? (Trigger Warning Ahead… *Names have been changed, to protect anonymity) […]
It was late summer, 2005. I was 19, and home, anxiously awaiting my return to The Ohio State University for my sophomore year. We were still on quarters then, so I was always the last of my friends to head back to school in the fall, due to our late start. I was lonely. All my friends were back in their folds at school, but I was stuck home. My summer job as a lifeguard at the local country club pool had ended. Having had my fill of the sun that summer, I was watching a lot of TV.
On August 29, 2005, I remember watching, horrified, […]
Over the past few years, I have come to the realization that I have been a feminist for quite some time. I’ve seen and pointed out the inequality that my gender has afforded me on many occasions that are only recently coming back to my memory. I’m fairly certain this has been the case since before Kindergarten… Allow me to explain: […]
Let’s be honest: Middle school sucks. For everyone. For me, middle school was hell, because I had severe acne, was already 5’8″, a little more than 100 pounds, and had just recently started with the whole orthodontia business. I was a lanky, pimply, metal mouthed mess […]
If you’ve ever lived in an apartment with multiple levels, you may be quite familiar with this story, or at least something quite like it. The first apartment I got when I moved down to Florida was on the second floor in a cute little complex filled with a beautiful array of people: from the older folks with tiny yappy dogs, to a local police officer with a gigantic German Shepherd who had failed out of the Police Dog Academy […]
There were a few consecutive years, when I was between seven and ten, where we had nothing but construction going on in our home. I got to know the foreman […]
One night, when I was in middle or high school, after waiting patiently for days while the split pea soup thickened, and slow cooked down to perfection, we just couldn’t take the hambone smell anymore! […]
A Hopeful Midwesterner 