The last week the theme of value has been on my mind. We hear the word in many different ways, but how often do we stop to really understand the importance of such a small, little word. Honestly, I know I haven’t. If you ask my what I value you I can quickly list off…

In exactly eleven days I will join thousands of other people for the AFSP Overnight Walk in Washington, DC. We will walk 16-18 miles through the night. The walk starts at 8:00 pm after an opening ceremony and continues until the early hours. It is not a race. No times are kept and no one…

Each Mother’s Day my heart is filled with conflicting emotions. There is a deep sorrow and emptiness while there is also great joy and fullness. I am happy and sad at the same time. Each year at this time, I struggle to hold such conflicting emotions at the same time. For the last 19 years,…

Dear Southwestern Women’s Lacrosse Class of 2017 (AKA the FIRST class), Almost five years ago Matthew and I made the decision to move from Greensboro, NC, to Georgetown, TX, for Matthew to start the Southwestern Women’s Lacrosse Program. I was excited to return to Texas and Matthew was excited for the challenge of starting a…

My mom killed herself when I was 19, actually the day after I turned 19. My dad found her in the garage… and I won’t go into any more details. My mom was always loving and caring and my sister and I were her world along with my dad. I don’t say that in an…

I have struggled with perfectionism my entire life… from looks, to grades, to athletics, to a friendly game of Scrabble. I feel the need to be perfect in all aspects of life. Anything short of perfectionism is unacceptable in my mind. While I expect perfectionism from myself, I often have abounding grace for all those…

As long as I can remember, Christmas Eve was more of a time of celebration than Christmas Day. Of course Santa came to visit Christmas morning, but my true and clear memories are of Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve was the day we would be at my grandparents, Mama and Papa. We would beg to open…

When I was in first grade my teacher, Mrs. Goodwin, had us write: If I were President, I would…. I wrote: If i were President, I would marry a good lookin man and make lots of speeches. I then drew a picture of myself in front of a podium giving the lots of speeches. As…

Yesterday I heard about an issue that happened on Good Morning America on Friday. Last week was National Suicide Prevention Week. To cap off the week a group from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention went to GMA to be in the audience outside. They went to be a voice for suicide awareness and to stop…

August 21,  the day I first saw her. August 21, the last day I saw her. In between was nineteen years filled of unconditional love. When your mom dies by suicide the day after you nineteenth birthday, each year a day of normal celebration holds a bloated amount of emotions. For years after my mom…

When I was 15 years younger, I was often concerned more with what others thought than what I thought, wanted, or needed. I was so overly concerned with how others perceived me, that I often lost out on being my true self and honestly having fun. Right before I was graduating with my PhD, one…

  Today is six years since my Papa died. He taught me so much about life and below are the words I spoke at his funeral. I have heard it said, that people come into our lives For a reason, bringing something we must learn And we are led to those who help us most…

When I was pregnant with Keaton, Matthew and I had a discussion one day about the overwhelming task of raising our kid to be a good person, a contributing member of society. As were were talking I said if I can teach him only one thing it would be compassion. I felt like if he…

A few weeks ago, after a wonderful time on a Disney Cruise, my sister encouraged me to post a picture to Jennifer Weiner‘s campaign #‎weartheswimsuit‬. My sister explained Jennifer Weiner was encouraging woman to post pictures in swimsuits and post pictures. The reason being, the more pictures girls and others see of “normal” women in swimsuits will…

We are coming back from an unbelievable 11 days of family vacation, yet my heart is aching. We spent time in Key West, Bahamas, and the Washington DC area and made memories for a lifetime, yet my heart aches in a deep and almost unexplainable way. I saw my two year-old son experiencing so many…

I am amazed by the hope and joy my two and half year old gives me on a day like today… a day when 50 individuals are gunned down by senseless violence. A day when 50 individual lives are taken because they were hated for who they loved. A day when it is hard to…

I remember when mom died, dad talked about how you are part of a club when you lose a parent. I have found his words true since I often find myself having deep empathy for friends whose parents die. And while my dad’s words were truth, the last two years, I’ve realized I’m part of…

Tonight is the night.  Tonight I walk 16-18 miles.  Tonight I remember the life of my mom. Tonight I bring suicide awareness out of the dark. Tonight I walk for others who have not found their voice. Tonight I meet others on a similar journey. Tonight I walk to #stopsuicide. Tonight I stand as an…

It has been interesting watching the situation unfold at Baylor over the last few days regarding sexual assault and the football team. What has been interesting is the response and finger pointing of the entire country. I in no way condone what happened at Baylor. It was wrong. There is no excuse and it should…

Recently  based on a recommendation from my sister, I read an essay by David Sedaris on the suicide of his sister (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/10/28/now-we-are-five). In the essay he makes a statement which has haunted me for a few weeks. In reflecting with his dad he questions how she could leave all of them. The following lines were…