“Mama, the monsters are coming at me,” my son said. He stood by the bed with his face inches from mine, hands animated. My mid-REM cycle brain lingered between sleep and reality. “What?” I asked. I saw that my son was disturbed by something. After realizing I was going to have to get out of bed, I stumbled to his room. I gave the bunk a full examination before telling him to get back in. Five minutes later, he reappeared. The monsters were still there. For some reason, the miracle of Continue Reading
How to Not Feel So Alone During Seasons of Depression
Depression thrives on two things: isolation and silence. During one of my darkest seasons, I convinced myself that if I didn’t tell anyone about my depression, it would go away. I feared the verbalization of how I felt, thinking it would somehow become more real. Some days, I rationalized the constant sluggishness, numbness and fog that hung over me. I believed I was having a bad day, and the next would be better. So instead of being honest, I tried to be happy. Or at least, to put on a Continue Reading
If You’re Struggling through Your Days and God Seems Far Away
When I was five, my best friend locked the two of us in the trunk of his dad’s car. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why the heck would he do that, right? Good question. I still wonder about it, myself. If memory serves me correctly, we were pretending as kids often do. Our story involved being kidnapped by an awful person who threw us into the trunk of his car. Of course, we had to climb into a trunk for effect. My friend didn’t intend to for it to latch, but it did. Oh, crap. Wonder why Continue Reading
