If I had my life to live over again, I’d dare to make more mistakes next time. I’d relax…I would eat more ice cream…I would try to have nothing else — just moments…instead of living so many years ahead of each day. — Nadine Stair

It’s a common sentiment. Things people say when they’ve reached their golden years or the end of their days due to an unexpected illness. I should have…I wish I would have…life goes so fast…

We’ve heard that we should stop and smell the flowers, take time to be present, and enjoy the little things in…

‘Should’ is the modern woman’s shackle. It ties us to guilt and shame and “never good enough.” — Mary Gallagher

I have my list of personal ‘shoulds’ and I am sure you do too. I’ve carried them around like a ball and chain. They kept me bound to societal pressures, family expectations, religious rules, and my own unrealistic expectations of perfection.

Our ‘should’ lists can contain the hard stuff: I should call the friend I lost touch with; I should visit my mother-in-law; I should lose 35 pounds. …

I have a fascination with stories about hikers who tackle trails like the Appalachian Trail (the AT) or the Pacific Crest Trail (the PCT). I’ve read dozens of these stories from the famous memoir, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed to the story of Grandma Gatewood, the first woman to solo-hike the AT, to the entertaining account of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. I’m enthralled with the adventure, the dedication of these individuals, the humorous and touching stories they each bring to their walks, and the lessons they learn along the way.

One theme that repeats itself over and over…

Have you ever looked at your life as a story that is being written by God? Some feel that fate deals them either a good hand or a bad hand and others rely on themselves to get through life, but what if there was a more interesting and hopeful way to look at your life?

My husband and I are bingeing an older USA Network series called Suits. The main characters from a Manhattan law firm always find themselves in the proverbial hot water with their backs against the wall, facing insurmountable odds to get out of their precarious situations.

…

poetry

Babies,
you left home.
Aloof,
I saw it coming —
just like you
not connected,
no pushing at my feet for affection
or arched back
begging for my touch.

Six weeks later
a small hello,
almost an apology
as you rub against the corner of the garage.
Clothespin in hand
I wonder at how —
where you have been —
joy at your return.

Babies!
I didn’t know I had
missed you until you came back.
Different.
Sweetness. …

The singer and artist, Jewel, in her autobiography, Never Broken, said this:

I know that a spirit cannot be broken any more than water can be broken, or any more than air can be split apart. It can only be perceived as broken…And believing that we are broken is the same thing as being broken. — Jewel

Have you ever perceived yourself as broken? Flawed in a way that can’t be redeemed? Broken in spirit and trapped in the cycle of regret, shame, feeling stuck? Do you see yourself as marred and beyond repair?

You are not broken, cannot be…

Oh, February,
What you lack in length
you make up for in tenacity.

Smile sweetly,
last in line
a coiled snake
waiting for your moment,
You strike.
A woman scorned,
you’ll have your say.

We try to reframe you
with hearts and holidays
and heritage stories
But your truth is this:
Winter is yours.

A frozen heart
shows little mercy.
Skills sharpened by
eons of time and practice.

You covet your clutch,
icy fingers cling to your calling.
Never denied.

Purpose crystallized in stillness
You envelop and enfold
our world in white and gray.

Never wavering in your intentions —…