A family on a stroll stumbles upon a dessert shop. They all decide to grab one ice cream cone each. Dad chooses strawberry, mom picks vanilla, and the three-year-old settles on cookies and cream with sprinkles. The little one is looking forward to enjoying this tasty treat. She runs out to the bench and trips. ...

Imagine a nine-month-old experimenting with his legs for the first time. His knees are wobbly like a newborn fawn. Splat. He lands on his booty; thank goodness he has all that padding from the diaper. Laughter ensues. “Great job!” shouts Grandma with excitement. “You’re almost there,” Grandpa says with encouragement. This depiction is a typical ...

Why must we behave like starving, hollow children? Always desiring more when our bellies are full. We glance at one another on this earth, allowing ourselves to act like Cain and Abel. “This is not fair!” a fellow soul cries out, as the individual takes their well-earned reward. Treasure that fills the other with envy ...

Physical touch has never been my love language. I have not been a hugger, kisser, or cuddler. This sentiment did not change even after I became a mom. My oldest was born six years ago. Even when I met my firstborn, what I’ve heard described as the moment that makes all the pain, hardship, waiting, ...

I have the privilege of being both a pediatric nurse and a mom. With 11 years of hospital bedside experience in the pediatric intensive unit, I encounter a range of patients and families. Each meeting is unique and special in its own way. Something new I learn every shift, is how to foster resilience in ...

If I have one wish for you, my love, it would be that you never let the world dim your light. Sometimes, it is cruel and wicked, punishing the innocent and sinner alike, showing no mercy, with the flames of hatred growing more intense with every act of revenge. It leaves a trail of devastation ...

Catherine sat up in the creaking bed and rubbed her swollen eyes. This head cold had made the previous night a hard one to sleep through, and its presence lingered today. “Achoo!” She sneezed into her hands, got up, and washed them thoroughly in the washbasin, as mother had taught her. Afterwards, Catherine donned a ...

Little humans are almost like pets. They get antsy when I coop them up too long under a roof. Moreso when visiting the grandparents’ house for the holidays because it is a new environment, they don’t have their comfort toys, and routine is thrown out the window during holiday vacations. I must take them on ...

Blood may be thicker than water, but it does not compare to souls connected to souls and hearts linked to one another. It is a testament to what family is. Revenge and hatred boil to the surface, with no winners in a game of pain. Love and cherished memories, however, are what keep us marching ...

They have killed a squirrel before. Is it in the enchanted woods, or the forested hills? The pine trees host every creature desperately trying to live, eat, hide, take shelter. Only for them to repeat their routine in their habitat. Both animals and hunters made of human flesh kill the squirrels. A cycle of life ...