Crystal Clear Observations

I am thrilled and honored to be one of the mothers featured in ReShonda Tate Billingsley's new release entited "The Motherhood Diaries." ReShonda and I met in 2006 when we were both selected as one of ten Women on the Move from Texas Executive Women. After connecting with her on facebook, I quickly discovered her wit, contagious humor, genuine spirit and dedication to her writing. Quite simple, she is someone who is highly admirable. When I emailed her that she was one of my mother-in-law's favorite authors, she sent an autographed copy of her latest book to her. It made her month! ReShonda posted on facebook that mothers could submit entries for review for an upcoming book she was writing on motherhood. Initially, I wasn't going to submit an essay because I thought there was no way in hell that a novice writer like myself would ever appear in a book by a best-selling author. But I soon realized that overcoming fear was one of my greatest strengths. As pointed o...

April is a tough month for me. Once I get past all the silly April Fool's Day pranks (I've just never liked playing tricks on people), I am forced to ride an emotional roller coaster. My father passed away on Good Friday in 1991. Despite the number of years that have passed, I always remember him fondly as we head into the month of April. April 24th, 2007, was a day that I will never forget. It was the third worst day of my life. I heard the dreadful words "You have breast cancer." Each year, I always celebrate in some manner reaching another remission milestone but something tragic happened to our family on April 12th, 2011, that will forever cause my heart to ache in April each year. My husband and dog were attacked by two pit bulls and had to fight for their life. Sadly, only my husband survived. I'm actually embarrassed at how much losing my dog hurt and how it is impacted my life. I feel like a void exists despite having brought two new dogs (bichons) into ...