The other day, one of my clients/friends/cheerleaders said, “I just want a little book of you to carry around.”
I thought, “Gee, that’s nice. She’s so nice.”
Little did she know of my struggle…
There I  go  struggling again..
The angels have said, Write your book.
What kind of book?
I asked this. They said, You’ll figure it out.
Gee. Thanks Angels.
I got a third of the way through my no worries book, but it didn’t feel right.
I’ve thought about doing an animal communication book, but honestly, there are a TON of animal communication books out …

So, who won the mittens?
I put all the names in a hat and it’s Juanita!
Yay!

Simrat Khalsa is an amazing artist and blogger, and also, she’s my friend.

Here’s her story. It’s the last of the stories I’m featuring this week:
“When are you going to get over it?”
“Just get over it already!”
“Dear, you just have to get over it … and move on.”
Ever hear any of these? I think that we all have at one time or another. Maybe it was regarding a lost love or a lost life. Either way, it’s something that I’ve thought about a lot. You see, I would consider myself …

This story comes to us from Debbie Jacobs of Guilford, VT.
Lena’s Story
Growing up in New England summers are punctuated by storms.
One summer day in the early 1960’s my seasonal friend Jamie and I were at Lena’s, one of the only year-round residents among the cottages circling a small lake in southern Massachusetts. Her husband, Henry, a stocky man with close cropped hair on his mostly bald head, was at work. He left every morning in their station wagon, wearing matching shirt and pants, like a janitor or auto mechanic.
Lena and …

Here’s a story from Carolyn Arnold, my friend who lives in Wales, and is lovely.
When at first you don’t succeed, do or do not, there is no try!”
I registered with my Accountancy association back in Sept. 1990, thinking it would be a doddle based on my experience doing school exams, revising the night before.
Having assumed that from the start, my first couple of exams were a nightmare. I really didn’t get the hang of what this accountancy lark was all about…if it was about numbers, why did I need …

One of these weeks, when I get my courage up, I’m going to do a week of talking about the relationships that moms and daughters share. It is one of the hardest and one of the best relationships that we can have.

When Juanita sent me this non-story, I cried.
When I sit down and try to hear my story I only hear the stories I was born from, the stories of my family… and the stories of my mother. And I realize that all of my stories lead back …

This cat is super cool. And a life-saver to boot. Here’s a story from Trinlay Khadro to tell us that even our smallest friends have our back.

My Cat Saved My Life
I think I need to start with some back ground…
I’ve been ill, sometimes quite severely and mysteriously, off and on, for about 20 years.
About 7 years ago, I was barely holding on to my job, and having one of those weeks, where my neck hurt so badly that I couldn’t turn my head or raise my arms up …

This story is probably not safe for work. You be the judge.
This is from Backfence PDX, a story-telling show where you get 8 minutes to tell a true story, unrehearsed, without cue cards. And the theme for the night was “Temporary Insanity”.
Hope you enjoy it!
Bridget Pilloud at Back Fence PDX from Melissa Lion on Vimeo.

Lauren (@zenandcoffee) sent me this story, which broke my heart and made me question why some get such struggles.

It also gave me some perspective about the struggles my kid faces, and how, really, deeply lucky my family is.
Jani’s at the mercy of her mind
Her fathers blog is here: January First.
Hug your kids.