I Believe…

I Believe…

June 9, 2013 by · 15 Comments

Last Sunday morning, I woke up with an itch. An itch that’s been building for over a year now.

When my friend Nic put on Facebook that she was in town, I knew it was the day. I knew SHE would go with me.

Back in the fall, I got Robin Plemmons, one of my favorite people and most fabulous artists, to write a simple word on an index card. I knew that when I finally did it, I wanted HER touch to it.

One practice on my arm…

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art by robin plemmons, in sharpie

And one pass on the index card, and I had my art.

I knew this was the word. For a while, this word had popped up in all kinds of places exactly when I needed to see it. It continuously reminds me of so much.

It reminds me that I believe in ME.

I believe with all my heart that good comes from bad.

I believe that love always wins.

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art by me, in henna

I believe in God, and believe that others don’t have to believe in my God. I will still love them because remember, I believe that love always wins.

I believe that sometimes life is hard, but trudging through the mud and muck will make you a stronger person in the end.

I believe in Auburn, and I love it.

I believe in community and giving back with time and money, even if both are limited.

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from the book ‘believe’

I believe I am blessed. I’m blessed with a beautiful family, a personal guardian angel, and amazing friends.

I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. I also believe that some of the best song lyrics are part of cheesy songs.

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my friend’s son, who believed he could run for a medal at disney

I believe that strangers can have profound impact on you when you least expect it.

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random stranger with believe sign on main street at disney

I believe that the tides will always rise and fall, the skies and seas will have to be angry before they can be calm, and mother nature knows what she’s doing.

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sand writing by me, 2013

I believe that we are all led to places and situations that make us stronger, even if it feels like it may kill us.

I believe our stories matter.

I believe we all have the right to our own opinions, that yours isn’t any better than mine and I won’t love you any less for yours.

my mother's day gift

my mother’s day gift

Last Sunday, my sweet friend rode to Psycho Tattoo with me and held my hand (and took pictures) as I got my favorite word permanently placed on my wrist. It’s there for all to see, but mostly, it’s where I can hold it close to my heart and be reminded when I need to be.

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chet at psycho tattoo in marietta, ga

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art by robin plemmons, permanent ink by chet

This is my permanent, daily reminder that if we believe in something, anything, we can learn to believe in ourselves and others.
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#10ForCharlie

#10ForCharlie

May 19, 2013 by · 12 Comments

It’s Sunday, two days before Charlie’s tenth birthday. I’m at a loss for words and lacking motivation to do much of anything, anticipating the day in a way that has me paralyzed.

I would suspect that’s normal, though.

I was texting with my friend Karen earlier, and she suggested I make a goal of running 10 miles this week. Then we decided we should ALL make that goal.

#10ForCharlie

BRILLIANT!

This solves a couple of problems for me personally:

One, I’m likely going to eat pizza every night this week since my husband is traveling, so I’ll be able to burn off a few calories.

Two, Henry and I can burn off some energy and (my) anxiety in the evenings with a run around the block.

It seems so very easy, really. Just pick your favorite activity — running, walking, skipping, biking — and log 10 miles this week.

If you tweet, use #10ForCharlie hashtag. If you don’t, let me know on my Facebook page.

Throw on your running shoes and get outside!

Filed Under: Charlie, Running Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Going Home

April 28, 2013 by · 13 Comments

Today’s post needs no real introduction. There are places we all feel are “home” even if they’re not physically our homes. They invoke emotion in us that can’t usually be put into words, but today we’re going to try.

Today’s (totally optional) prompt: Going Home

stream of consciousness sunday

Home. They say it’s where the heart is.

Some say it’s where your family is.

Sometimes it’s just where your heart starts beating faster, your skin flushes, memories of a time come flooding back, and you find yourself saying out loud, “This is home!”

That’s Auburn for me.

I picked up my roommate from Auburn at the airport and we drove down for a road race this weekend. Both of us upon reaching the city limits, said that THIS is home.

The sights, the smells, the memories… even though it’s been 15 years since we left here to move on with lives, get married, have babies, etc, it’s like we never left. Sure, “home” has gotten new stores, A FREAKING TARGET, a lot more bars, and a lot of facelifts, but it’s the same.

We’re those people now, the ones like our parents used to be when they would drag us to Auburn. The ones who say, “I used to live there. We used to go there on Wednesday nights. That used to be the xyz store.”

We’re like that now because it’s home. It always will be.

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This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

  • Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
  • Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
  • Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
  • Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post (in the sidebar). .
  • Link up your post below.
  • Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

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Stream of Consciousness Sunday: NonWriting at NonCon

October 14, 2012 by · 11 Comments

I’m at Callaway Gardens right now at the Aiming Low Non-Con. If you don’t know about it, well, you probably won’t like it should. I really want to keep this conference a secret so it stays this small and intimate forever and ever. I also want them to have it multiple times a year. But enough about that for now…

Since I’m busy sleeping thinking about writing and all the amazing things I want to do, we’re going to have promptless, free writing today.

So set those timers for five minutes and pour it out of your head!

Time starts NOW!

stream of consciousness sunday

The love that fills my heart right now is making it want to burst. I’ve been blessed with so many friendships.

There are friends that have been around since I was an infant and friends who are just coming into my life. They’re all equally as important to me.

I’m reminded at this conference that even though time and space separates so many of us, our words connect us. They connect us in ways that often, our local friends don’t even understand.

There are women I want to just grab and hug and tell them that everything’s going to be alright. And there are people I want to sit for hours and talk about how we feel about our writing and lots in life. There are women I didn’t know, but who are now, I find, sisters of mine in the world of baby loss.

We’re all joined in ways, no matter our race, religion, political preference, or whatever, that evoke emotions I wish I could put into words.

But alas, this writer is out of words. They’re in my head and in my heart, waiting to be poured out onto the internet.

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This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

  • Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
  • Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
  • Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
  • Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post (in the sidebar). .
  • Link up your post below.
  • Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Filed Under: SOC Sunday Tagged With: , , , , ,
Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Dropped Into My Life

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Dropped Into My Life

September 16, 2012 by · 16 Comments

Wow. I just want to take a minute to say THANK YOU! I’m honored that 25 of you linked up last week to tell the world about who YOU are. If you haven’t read them already, I highly recommending heading over and reading all the posts in the linky at the bottom of the post.

I’m blown away with the turnout and I’m proud of all who dug deep to share your inner selves with us!

This week, I was reminded that sometimes people drop into your lives for a reason. I think we all have that person and I want to allow you to tell us about them. I’m going to give you permission to add a picture or whatever this week since we’re honoring someone else!

Today’s (optional) prompt: Who has dropped into your life and made it better?

stream of consciousness sunday

It was the summer of 2001. I was put in charge of a team of middle school dancers at my alma mater. There was one girl who was quiet, shy, unsure of her moves, but who had the most amazing little spirit about her.

I only coached them for a year but ran into her a few years later. She was graduating from high school and heading to college. She had grown up. Wiser than her years, she has guided her life in the directions SHE chose.

Henry is smitten with her, and quite frankly, I am, too. Why? Because she does things like this:

And because she throws her dog birthday parties. And she takes crazy Christmas card pictures. She’s quirky and adorable and sometimes I want to put her in my pocket and take her home with me.

She marches to the beat of her own drum and has grown into a lovely young woman.

I’m not sure if she knows what a special mark she’s made in my heart… and probably in the hearts of many others.

But I want her to know that I think she was placed in my life for a reason.

Love you, Ashlee.

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This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

  • Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
  • Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
  • Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
  • Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post (in the sidebar). .
  • Link up your post below.
  • Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

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