Hey, guys. It's me, your Aunt Tara. You're still all-up-in-a-belly, cooking away, getting big and strong and ready for life on the outside. I've been watching you grow for months now, and every time you get bigger, I wonder who's in there. Who will you be? What will you love? How will you shine? I ... read more
Me, My Depression, and I
I remember the day I started taking antidepressants. I waited a couple days after picking up the prescription, partially in denial and partially terrified. I was a teacher at the time and arrived at school early, scrambling to get some-sort-of-ready for the day. Sitting at my desk, surrounded by ... read more
The Search: My Fledgling Quest for Answers about Faith, God, and Theology
I have a love-hate relationship with pants. It's usually like 90% hate, 10% love, depending on the pants in question. If you're a generally regular-sized person with a few plus-sized parts, shopping for pants turns into a special kind of torture. My closet is full of high-rise, low-rise, mid-rise, ... read more
Alone Together
"You guys, if I'm still single next year, it's just going to be me, Mom, and Dad on Christmas," I half-whined to my siblings on Christmas morning, 2015. My brother, sister, and their spouses spent the holiday with us, so, I knew that, based on the Rule Book of Married People, they'd be at their ... read more
Space
This year has been super weird. It seems that not a week went by without a bizarre / extraordinary / unfortunate political, social, pop-cultural event dominating my Twitter feed. I listen to and read lots of news from lots of sources, and the amount of confusing, heartbreaking, and/or WTF? moments ... read more
Reminders
This past Christmas my siblings and I gifted my parents with a family photo shoot. The only professional photos we had ever taken were at my brother's and sister's weddings and for the church directory when I still had giant poofy bangs and matched my sister in a checkered suspender dress thing in ... read more
Feeling 32
Today is my 32nd birthday. I know that 32 isn't old by any means, but I think today I'm feeling 32. I'm feeling the weight of another year gone by, incredulously scrawling an extra tally mark next to my name. I'm also feeling the occasional soreness from simple physical activity and instantly tired ... read more
Chasing the Unicorn: How Grease Ruined My Chances of Finding True Love
My very first childhood crush was on Danny Zuko. Yes, Danny Zuko: specifically the one played by 23-year-old John Travolta in the movie musical Grease. So dreamy. I don't remember how old I was when I first fell for Danny, but my love for him was a fairly innocent fantasy. I memorized all ... read more
I’m not good at anything.
Before I could officially start my current job, I had to pass a drug test. I knew I would have to give a urine sample, so the day of the test I chugged a couple glasses of water and headed to the lab, where I assumed I would be in and out in a matter of minutes. Once I checked in, a technician ... read more
All the Single Ladies: In Defense of Valentine’s Day
I love Valentine's Day. I know it's kind of a stupid, manufactured holiday, but I can't help myself. I love love. I've had a handful of disappointing ones, though. I've spent plenty of them feeling sorry for myself, masochistically scrolling through friends' and acquaintances' IDA: ... read more
