This is an extremely long, and emotionally charged post.  I was raised to believe that the police are there to protect us.  I have always known there were some bad cops, but I believed they were the exception.  I believed that if you tell the truth, you will prevail.  Maybe I should have known better, looking back.  But these are ideals ingrained long before I...

I’m seeing people that I really respect reposting a message about the new Florida drug testing for welfare law, and I just have to address it.  I believe in the right to free speech, even when I disagree with the message, but I also believe that people should look at all sides of an issue before taking a position, especially publicly. I wonder how many of...

Some of my friends have very tumultuous relationships with their mothers.  I listen to their stories and I just can’t imagine having a mother who could do such things.  In my world, a mother is kind and generous.  She always has her family’s best interests at heart.  She does make sacrifices for her family, but she still retains her identity.  She is...

It is next to impossible to explain anxiety to someone who has never experienced it.  I’ve tried, repeatedly, with very disappointing results.  Variations have included: The feeling you get when you hear nails on a chalkboard or whatever sound has that kind of effect on you. A swarm of bees inside you, getting more and more agitated as they creep toward your...

So, let me explain how things have been in Cheeky’s world. Sometime in late August or early September…I’m leaning toward September but I don’t want to actually go look up my son’s mug shot to tell you for sure…my son decided to take the douchebag route and was involved in a neighbor being burglarized. He was arrested and released...

I just started back to school. I’m working 32 hrs/week, taking 13 credit hours in four classes, and raising the kids and running the house. I also have had three house guests in between homes for the last week or so. I already felt like I was buckling. Like the big steel bridge that everyone takes for granted as always being there was starting to sway and the...