Learning to love myself

Is It Too Late to Dream at 44? Maybe it's not too late. Maybe I'm just getting started. Growing up, I honestly can't remember spending much time thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up. At twelve years old, I already thought of myself as a little adult. I was the oldest of twelve children, and childhood didn't always feel like childhood. My mother struggled with drug addiction, and there were times when she would disappear. At first, it might be a weekend. As I got older, those weekends turned into weeks, sometimes even months. I remember one time when I was around fourteen or fifteen. My mother disappeared for approximately two months. When she finally came back, she was pregnant. Growing up was a struggle in ways that are hard to explain. There was always something happening, something to adjust to, something to figure out. I don't think I spent much time imagining my future because I was too busy dealing with the present. When you're young, y...

My Dreamy Book Escapes: When Even a Tawdry Romance Can't Save Me From a Book Slump Let me tell you something about me: I LOVE a good romance novel. And when I say love, I mean LOVE. Give me a deliciously tawdry romance with a swoon-worthy hero, a heroine who can hold her own, a little danger, a little drama, and enough passion to make me fan myself. I'm here for it! I've been a romance reader for as long as I can remember. I fell in love with the genre when I was just a girl, and I haven't looked back since. Books have always been one of my favorite ways to escape the world for a little while. One of my favorite authors is Christine Feehan. There's something about getting lost in her paranormal worlds that hits differently. I love the combination of romance, danger, supernatural elements, and those intense relationships that make you want to keep reading just one more chapter. You know the kind of book I'm talking about. The one where you tell yourself you...

Finding My Way Back to Me: One Week at a Time Have you ever looked at your life and realized that somewhere along the way, you stopped making time for yourself? You spend so much time being there for other people, handling responsibilities, and trying to get through whatever life throws at you that you forget about the person who needs your attention the most: YOU. I've been there. Life has a way of changing us. Sometimes we experience losses that leave us trying to figure out who we are all over again. Sometimes we spend so much time being strong for everyone else that we forget we're allowed to have difficult days, too. I've been on a journey of healing, learning, and trying to understand myself better. It's not always easy, and I certainly don't have all the answers. But I'm learning that I don't have to have everything figured out to take the next step. That's part of why I started this blog. I wanted a place where I could be honest about life...