The tough times taught me how the ultimate beauty lies in the mundane. — “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Robert Brault I have always prided myself on my ability to practice gratitude. Ever since I was a child, I’ve thanked the Lord for my blessings on the majority of my days. …

Mom of two, freelance writer, peanut butter lover. “Accept what people offer. Drink their milkshakes. Take their love.” Wally Lamb Hey there! I’m Amanda — mom of two, freelance writer, and peanut butter lover, but let’s start from the VERY beginning. I was born (and raised) in a teeny Southern…

How our daily commute sheds light on the metaphors of wind — “If the wind brushes against you, do not complain; it brushes against everyone.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo “Can I feel the wind on my face for a minute, mommy?” My sweet, 5-year old asks every morning — on our half-hour commute. “Yes, honey, of course, you can,” I always say as…

Trying to make sense of our political world. — I’ve been a people pleaser since I can remember, and for most of my life when it came to controversial conversations, I’d shy away or stay silent. Some close friends never even knew my political affiliation. Controversy has never been my thing. Then I became an official writer, and life spilled on the page. For someone…

Guilt. It appears in even the most mundane of places: The paper plate aisle. The dog kennel. The University bookstore where I told a white lie, so many years ago. Funny how it works, isn’t it? You’ll be going about your day, windows down, music blaring, then along comes a memory, a…

I used to believe we needed to clear the chambers… Extinguish them all from within. “Roast then heal Every. Single. One of them,” I used to think. But in one of those moments, you know, one of those unexpected moments when life magically stands still? When every sound, every pause…

The universe was with me yesterday, in its usual profoundly complicated way. My divorce hearing judge granted me a last-minute motion to appear, via Zoom, instead of leaving my beach escape two hours away from the courthouse. So, I could stay surrounded by friends and family at my ocean getaway…

My marriage ended today. The papers, soaked in ink. The dissolution; tangibly official. Due to a previously missed notation, we both found ourselves sitting side by side… in a bank… with a pale-faced woman awkwardly holding a pen and a stamp. Each page, we initialed together, and I found the…

I picture myself sometimes, Sitting cross-legged at dusk with a million fireflies zinging around me like a blanket of concert lighters, begging for an encore. There’s so much commotion surrounding me that I can hear the army of frenzied wings trying SO HARD to be heard. You see, this year…