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How to Talk With a Depressed Person
Here are some helpful tricks I have found to be useful when speaking to a depressed person: Person: Everything we do is really pointless because we’re all going to die anyway. You: That may be true. I’m hungry. What do you want for breakfast? Toast? Eggs? *Redirection is your new best friend. Let them talk about the existential thoughts roiling inside them. You talk about food and how much you adore eggs and bacon. Let them know you heard what they said, validate them and redirect. They have enough existentialism for both of you. Promise. – Person: I have no motivation to do anything. You: Ugh. That’s awful. So I…
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How to Spot a Creative in The Making
Growing up creative meant having most adults in my life tell me that I would never “make it.” Sure, I was a solid musician, could sing, and possessed a writing talent but I was foolish for thinking it could be anything more than a hobby. I always assumed what they meant was that I would never be an Alicia Keys, Tchaikovsky, Picasso, or the great Charles Dickens… so why waste time? But creating was what I loved to do. How could I change something about myself that was so integral and an intricate part of who I was as a person? There was no separating myself from my creativity. Not…
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What is The True Face of Poverty?
Here is the plight of people who are born into poverty. They are raised in the poorest section of their community. The poorest section of their community is subjected to more violence and crime. The schools in the poorest section of the community get the least funding of all the schools. The schools in the poorest section of the community have the highest turnover rate for teachers. Many kids in poverty are raised in foster homes or by a relative who is not their parent. There are good foster homes and bad ones, of course. Just like regular homes. It is not uncommon for a child in poverty to be…
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Chapter 3: The Boy in the Glass Bottle
Start reading at Chapter 1 After a time of walking, the sun climbing higher in the sky, the trail Amira followed faded from dust to pastel covered pebbles. The vegetation surrounding the path growing palpably thicker, she began looking for her tree. An ancient weeping willow stood as a silent guardian to the gateway of the lands of The East and had been Amira’s friend since she had learned to explore on her own. It stood towering at the height of twelve men and its trunk could easily fit them all inside. The willow was in the season of its flowering, the hanging leaves seemingly covered in what appeared to…
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Florida Summer Shower
“I found a massive dead rat in the shed,” my husband said by way of greeting. Jesse stood in the doorway leading to our backyard, his black hair wet with humidity and sweat. “That’s disgusting.” I crinkled my nose. “Come look at it.” He gestured behind him. “Absolutely not!” “Please!” “No!” I stood up from my work at the table and walked to the kitchen. “Remember when you worked at the Mill and you sent me a text of that mouse caught in the trap! I’m scarred for life!” “Yeah.” Jesse laughed. “That was before trigger warnings. Well, come help me anyway. It’s about to rain.” “No it isn’t.” Jesse…
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How to See The Value in Setting Goals
Do you have trouble seeing value in setting goals for yourself? So today we’re going to be a little practical. Because if you’re anything like me, you could use a tid-bit of practicality in your life. Naturally, I am not an organized person. I just kinda like to flit through life and discover where it takes me on the way. However, I have to admit that bringing a bit of organization to my dreaminess has been essential to, you know, actually accomplishing something. Before goal setting, I had a ton of ideas swimming around in my head and then they were gone like the last cookie from the cookie jar.…
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Eating Good on a Budget: 36 Freezer Meals for $300
This, my friends, is 36 freezer meals complete with veggie sides and sauces. Each meal serves about 6 and I spent $300. So that’s approx. $1.40 a serving and $8.40 per meal. I needed to cut back on my grocery bill while also saving myself time in the kitchen. (Life is getting busy!) So I designed this meal plan to make 36 freezer meals for $300. I probably could have done it cheaper if I had some of these ingredients already in my freezer, but alas. I had to start from scratch. I went to Sams Club for these items and got some pretty great deals. I definitely recommend shopping…
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Chapter 2: The Boy in the Glass Bottle
Start reading with Chapter 1 Amira awoke the next morning from the sweetest of dreams, before the first light of dawn rose in pink rays over the hill beside her home. It was time to pick flowers for the party later that evening. Stretching her arms out, she grabbed her basket from the bedside table and hurried to put on her cloak, checking the inside pocket for her book. It was a dewy spring morning in early April, and she was to witness the awakening of the tulips. For it was in a meadow by a stream beneath an ancient mossy oak that the flowers bloomed as brightly colored candy…
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Chapter 1: The Boy in the Glass Bottle
He was a beautiful boy. Black hair and black eyes set in skin like sandstone. “Boy,” she said. “What are you doing in that bottle?” He stood tall and straight, his head just grazing the top of his glass prison. The bottle lay over on its side, a cork stuck in the neck. “Girl,” he smiled at her. His voice was muted, like hearing through water. “What are you doing out there?” She thought it a strange question from someone who was trapped. “Why are you in there?” she amended. She pressed the palm of her right hand to the glass, her breath leaving a mark like frost that soon…
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Childhood and Our Worst Fears
Yesterday, Judah asked to watch a “smart movie” about hurricanes. A documentary is what he meant. So I found one and set him up on my phone. A while later he runs into my room crying. “MOMMY! WATER GOT IN HOUSES AND TREES BLEW OVER!” “I’m sorry buddy,” I said reaching for the phone. “You don’t have to watch it anymore.” Judah jerked his hand back. “No! I want to!” “But it makes you sad.” “Yes. But it’s okay to be sad, right? You always say it’s okay to be sad. I want to keep watching so I can find out how to help save people. But can I watch…
