I created a blog about survival with a mission to help people. Because I survived all the top five most stressful and life-changing events, I earned the nickname Tough Cookie. Also, my life includes a diagnosis of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Since I was eight, I learned how writing could heal the hurt and disappointment on the way to Find Your Giants and Claim Your Walls!
Nobody ever thinks this will happen to them. This survival tale is what I call The Day of Diagnosis and Death Certificate. I guess every house has a history of smiles and tears. We had lived in our fixer-upper emerging home for four years, as… Read More »Diagnosis And Death Certificate
This blog survival tale begins where Fixer Upper Part Two ended. When Hayes was about 18 months old, Pete’s dad surprised us by expressing interest in meeting his grandson and seeing our house. I remember it as the fun visit and Frog’s Farewell. Frog Is… Read More »Frog’s Farewell
If you read All Dogs Must Be Irish, How To Make An Informed Decision When Choosing A Dog, and How To Adopt A Dog From A Local Shelter Or Rescue, welcome to my dog adoption reveal story! Petfinder On April 14, I joined petfinder.com, Purina… Read More »Dog Adoption Reveal
If you have read my blog stories from the beginning, you know I have been in survival mode since I was a kid. There is little freedom in never feeling seen, heard, guided, or encouraged. So, what’s a Tough Cookie to do? Writing to heal… Read More »Freedom
This is the third post in my journey about how to adopt a dog from a local shelter or rescue organization. The two previous posts were All Dogs Must Be Irish and How To Make An Informed Decision When Choosing A Dog. Whenever I walk… Read More »How To Adopt A Dog From A Local Shelter Or Rescue
In a previous post All Dogs Must Be Irish, I wrote about wanting a dog now that I have gone through the grieving process of my last pet Mickie. This post is part of a series about how to make an informed decision when choosing… Read More »How To Make An Informed Decision When Choosing A Dog
As symbolized in the traditional Irish Claddagh ring, the hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the Crown represents loyalty. Those humans fortunate to share their life with a dog know that all dogs must be Irish because they excel at giving unconditional love,… Read More »All Dogs Must Be Irish
About two years after Mom passed away in her sleep, I turned to my Aunt Dolores in my desperation to meet my lingering sorrow and fears head-on. She lived in Florida and I was in Albuquerque. My aunt sent the letter that saved my life.… Read More »The Letter That Saved My Life
The mission of How To Survive After Finding A Loved One’s Body and each of my stories is to show what happened to me, share what I learned, and encourage others to keep moving forward from life’s most unexpected challenges. As I wrote about in… Read More »How To Survive After Finding A Loved One’s Body
Unspeakable Secrets and Forgiveness collided. Everything came undone when I thought our family finally had it all. The visual of seeing my mom’s lifeless body in bed completely overtook my ability to function. I desperately wanted to remember that she passed away peacefully in her… Read More »Unspeakable Secrets And Forgiveness