Kristen Blog

I did not expect the eye roll and "gross!" response I got the first time I told someone (my sister) that Matt dries my hair for me.  I want to say I do not KNOW how I got so lucky to have a husband who cares so much about helping me (...every...little...detail), but that's not entirely true.  I like to say it's been an acquired skill he has learned based on sheer desperation to keep me from not continually losing my $*@! 😬😂, but that's also not entirely true.  (Failed that one this weekend.  😢).  Let's leave it at I am grateful.  Self care (physical...I'm talking hygiene, people.) is a commonly known neglect in the neurodivergent world.  He's lucky I keep myself (mostly) clean.  I'm lucky he will dry my hair so I feel "pretty" sometimes (which is whenever I have time in between overbooking myself to ask for help). The original "Foxy Lady". We were early birds on our 2nd day in the mountains.  We took the time to enjoy the pea...

I decided to go to Pike's Peak when I woke up on the first official morning of our vacation.  I had researched a lot of things to do in the Colorado Springs area, but this is one I knew was a definite.  Matt has a very vintage family picture from a trip he took as a kid, and I knew we needed to at least replicate the adventure for him.    Truth be told, I was also motivated to take this one head on by a dear friend...I try to not ask anything of others that I do not require of myself.  💕 We were short Xander and Mateo for the first leg of the journey.  They informed us a day or two before we left that they would be leaving a couple days after the rest of us.  (If you plan to travel with or continue to parent young adults...you'd better learn to be flexible fast.) I hated to experiencing Pike's Peak without them, but I also knew weather was an important factor to consider.  The first morning was looking ideal, and I'm a take-no-chances kind of per...

Ahhhh, life.  So messy.  So tragic.  So contradictory and confusing.  So out of my control. Still growing every day…growth just looks a little different (and more like deterioration on the surface. 😂).  I prefer the inner growth.  It’s less selfish and more enduring.  (P.S.  I don’t think my cousin ended up realizing his dreams of becoming a hair dresser???) We like to feel in control, don't we?  We like to have our little worlds set up so safely - our work, our sports teams, our Starbuck's and chain restaurants, our little vacation spots...these things convince and assure us that we are all ok.  When we are safe within the context of familiarity, we can hide from the irreconcilable truth. We literally have no control over anything in this life. I’m sorry.  I said it. No matter our position or status or wealth, the truth eventually invades the confines of our falsely sheltered lives.  (And most of us have no coping skills to d...

*Note to the reader - Nerdy stuff in the blog.  Fun stuff in the captions. Among several other titles (currently wrapping up my Capote phase), I am currently reading a Guideposts  book called Know the Bible in 30 Days .  I am in the chapter studying the book of Proverbs and came across these quotes (by J. Stephen Lang).  Here is a little conversation I had in response: Just as I was celebrating 46, my great was turning one!  We are birthday twins.  💗 [I deliberately never put them (or anyone else) on here, unless they are biologically mine.  I value others' privacy too much.] Lang: "We have all encountered the unintentional arrogance of youth, young people full of the enthusiasm of their inexperience."   Me: Myself included, for sure!  But I love the way he speaks in love rather than in criticism and judgment.  We are ALL guilty of the need for improvement - more so if we blindly believe we are not.  I have chosen to remind myself ...

We lost Eden to that stupid college again today.  My heart is heavy, and I started the morning a bit emotional. I know it will sound callous for a mom, but I usually sleep through (or am gone for) the actual leaving part.  I’m just not good at goodbyes. We got her a warm new coat and boots before she braved the cold, and I didn't have to worry about her traveling alone - thanks to her roommate's amazing parents. We had a lovely Christmas break, and I'm enjoying some extra time off creds to living in Kansas City.  (It's becoming quite popular, I hear.)  Right now, it's a frozen tundra, and everything is cancelled.   I've been a bit in "sabbatical mode" since September, when I finally got my counseling licensure.  Not that I slowed down at all...I revved up my mom and housewife role, and Christmas (though remarkably peaceful this year, all around) was a LOT of work.  (I shared the load with Matt more than ever, and that was a success I intend to repeat!)...

I was laughing, the other day, with a client mom over my latest purchase for the office… a fan.  We were having a virtual session, when I thought to show it to them.  (The upcoming forecast was grim - and on point - incessant rain and the first freeze of Fall.) Mom chimed in on my purchase, “Just in time!” Happy Halloween from my son, The Rake. 🤷‍♀️😂. What can I do?!! The kid loves monsters… I advocated for the purchase and it’s potential winter use, but I was also happy to admit the irony so fitting to my personality. I have never been on time.  It kind of became a thorn in my side for awhile.  However, I am now content in the fact that I have both faults and eccentricities.  It is a beautiful (sometimes burdensome) part of the package.  And “timeliness” has never been a natural gift of mine.  (But…like old wine, I continue to improve.) And speaking of wine…making this batch from my own grapes.  I harvested 14 pounds this year!! (I’ve had my ey...

How've you been, my friends?  Feeling a little lonely/isolated over here (typical for people like me...who have need for relationship but find relationship devastatingly exhausting), so I decided it was time for a post. It's the deodorant I'm using.  Everybody loves it!! I've been kicking it in high gear trying to get ready for "back to school".  It sneaks up on me EVERY year!! And, oh, I am learning so much about myself, as I settle in to my new(er) career.  (BTW...I have started the process for full licensure, and I am currently accepting prayers. 🙏 The Missouri licensure process is a bit of an impossible escape room...too many riddles and not enough clues...and, to be honest, I'm surprised I've managed to make it this far!) I am realizing how deep is my discomfort with saying no.  I am realizing how much I suppress my own needs for the "common" good.  And I am realizing that this combination is the main source of anxiety and discomfort in...