Traveling Through

I've been thinking above Mitt Romney since he decided to vote Trump guilty under one article of impeachment this past week... Being the one opposing voice in his party.  I  voted for Romney back in 2012 as sort of a rebellion against partisanship.  I voted a moderate Republican for president and Democrats for all other offices. I recognized that he actually cared about Healthcare and was campaigning to the majority of his party to separate himself from the creation of the Affordable Care Act. I thought in reality, he had a good heart and made choices through his empathy for others. I was also dealing with conflicts in my faith and issues such as abortion, etc... Sometimes, faith and politics don't always congeal on every single issue many people may feel conflicted.  (I'm a Pope Francis person... I would like to think of myself as leading first with compassion.) At the time, I had been in graduate school and getting free tuition for being a graduate assistant and was

This past month has been all about pushing the limits of comfort for me.  From actually learning and understanding statisical analysis (so I think) to being scrubbed by a total stranger at a bathhouse, and most recently attending a drag show on campus with my fellow Intro to Counseling and Psychotherapy classmates.    - note I guess I forgot to finish and publish this back in spring 2012... Funny!

I attended the Celebration of Life service of an older lady neighbor who I have known for several years now this past weekend. One child ago, she saw me walking with my infant and invited me inside to chat. (She was often outside working in her yard and waving at those passing by.) I came inside and immediately felt comfortable and welcomed. We talked about life, and she shared pictures of her family. She had a large family of six children (I believe). She was open about the current battle she was having with leukemia.  She was more sad about the new boundaries she was under than fearful of the disease. After talking for some time, she shared with me that she had lost her husband to suicide when her children were fairly young. I was surprised. How had this lady gone on and remained one of the most cheerful and grateful women I had ever observed and known?  Her perspective on life was to find joy through hard moments, to appreciate those she cared most about, and to live for t