Suicide
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If Only I’d Known, Part I (Music Challenge)
If I had known how my absence would impact my family I might have never left. My hope was that it would bring them some peace — relief from all of the anger, resentment, and bitterness that I carried in my heart and bled all over everything I touched. The last time I saw them… Continue reading
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A Difficult Choice (Photo Challenge #518)
Ariya awoke with her knees tucked up tightly against her chest and her arms cinched securely around her legs. Her head felt leaden and foggy, and her vision was bleary — as if spiders had spun intricate, sticky cobwebs between her eyelids as she slept. It was dark and Ariya struggled to retrieve her most… Continue reading
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F***ck…
I crashed out early last night (like, before nine o’clock early) and when I woke up this morning I discovered that I’d received a text from my baby brother at 10:41 PM: “I love you Cassie. You’re my favorite sister.” When I read it (at 8:25 this morning) my stomach tightened into a knot and… Continue reading
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Puff, Puff, I Ain’t Givin’ It Up!
I vape like a dragon, smoke curling from the left side of my mouth or spouting from my nostrils — always tinged with the barest scent or flavor of vanilla. I am aware that this sounds a bit absurd and slightly immature; but, bear with me. The First Habit to Go Left Me Seeing Hell-Hounds… Continue reading
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Leave the Leavers, Keep the Keepers
When it comes to friendship there are actually two tandem qualities that I value most: loyalty and show-upedness (that’s right, I’m calling “show-upedness” a word, deal with it); but, I’ve had to temper my expectations of these qualities over time. I Didn’t Learn It Right I grew up in a military household; so, loyalty was… Continue reading
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Hoping to Someday See Footprints
The short, uncomplicated answer to this question is, “Not really, no.” The more comprehensive answer is that my faith is very idiosyncratic. It’s been complicated by personal history and experience, becoming much more nuanced and ambiguous over time. This is Man’s Law, Not God’s I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. I even attended… Continue reading