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Confessions of a Recovering Workaholic
I didn’t just “work hard, play hard”; I worked like my self-worth depended on it (because it low-key kind of did).
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She Died Fast – But Beautifully
Preface Before my mom died, she made two very specific requests of me. One: don’t quit school.Two: stay with me until the end. And, toward the very end, she added one more: “You write about this.” It wasn’t a command or even a promise – just a request from someone who knew her daughter would…
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Healing Shouldn’t Be a Luxury (…but here we are)
Emotional labor doesn’t stop just because you’re healing. It doesn’t stop when you’re job hunting. It doesn’t stop when your body is begging for rest. And it sure as hell doesn’t stop for women who “look like they’ve got it handled.” New blog up now: for the ones silently juggling survival, healing, job searching, and…
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Crystal Light and Colon Regret
Let’s cut the crap. No one warned me that my mid-forties would mean getting a formal invite to drink liquid fire and spend the night conducting a full-body exorcism in my bathroom. But here we are! Welcome to middle age folks – where birthdays come with the gift of preventative screenings. That’s right. Your girl…
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Lost and (Almost, Maybe?) Found
There’s this moment you don’t even notice at first. A slow fade. It’s not some dramatic “the call is coming from inside the house” breakdown either. It’s just a gentle erosion of self. Like someone’s been stealing parts of you here and there while you were busy responding to emails, filling out insurance forms, surviving…
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I’m Not a Badge of Honor
People love to call women like me strong. Ugh. Annoying. “You’re so strong.” “I don’t know how you do it all.” “You’re Superwoman!” Here’s the reality though: most of the time, I don’t want to do it all. I just don’t always have a choice. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, the world didn’t…
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Shutter Speed & Soul Work
“A love story between me, a camera, and over 400 women defining themselves” Back in 2015, I fell in love. Not with a person, I was already head over heels for my husband (he’s cool with it) but with a machine: a Nikon DSLR. (Sorry, Canon folks. We can still be friends, but we’ll never…
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Twenty Years and Still Obsessed
There are a lot of ways to describe love, but for me, it boils down to one simple truth: I am still completely obsessed with my husband, Brian. And not in the creepy, “single white female” way—more like the “this man is my ride-or-die and I’d still swipe right on him today” kind of way.…
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Why I Started Running (And Why 5.5 Miles on a Treadmill Is a Never-Ending Hamster Wheel of Death)
Look, I started running to cope with the stress of my healthcare career. Healthcare staffing through Covid and post-Covid is not for the weak. I didn’t start running for fun. And not because I love exercise. Because my stress needed an outlet, and apparently, eating ice cream in a blanket burrito doesn’t count as cardio.…
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Running My Way to Surgery (Because Apparently, You Can’t Just Nap Your Way There)
Listen, if there were a way to prepare for surgery that involved lying on the couch, binge-watching Netflix, and eating snacks, I’d be a gold-medal contender. But nooo, apparently, the best way to get ready for my upcoming breast reconstruction surgery is to be healthy. Ugh. So here I am, lacing up my running shoes, hitting the pavement,…
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Unexpected Sadness and the Terrible Ouch
The writer recalls a bittersweet moment while scrolling through old photos, suddenly confronted with grief over her mother’s passing. The rapid onset of terminal cancer and subsequent emotional repression are detailed, along with fond memories of her mother. Despite ongoing pain, she reflects on healing progress and cherishes precious memories.
Playfully True: Notes from a Not-So-Graceful Life 