Showing Up

I clip into my spin bike and look around the room. I spot the familiar faces and think, These guys are always here. They must come all the time. Way more than me.

Before I even start the workout, I beat myself up a bit. Why?

The music starts to speed up. I catch my rhythm and try to dismiss the thoughts.

Read More
Swipe Out

Around 11pm, I exited the highway onto a double turn lane. In the left lane, I inched out for a right on red. The truck next to me, pulling a giant trailer, followed in full force. They gunned their gas and I watched as momentum swung the trailer into my lane. I sped my VW Beetle into the opposite side of the double yellow. One car, in oncoming traffic, switched lanes…

Read More
3D Butterflies

I walked into the dark IMAX theater a few minutes late. Without my special 3D glasses, I saw fuzzy orange butterfly images and greenery. In the crowd, kids stood in front of their chairs with their arms out in expectation. I chose a seat up high so I could enjoy the movie and the children trying to catch monarch magic.

Read More
Setting Intention by Guest Author Natasha Coco Benitez

In the morning when my alarm goes off, I roll from side to side in my cozy sheets, stretch my legs out long and point my toes.  I gently rub my belly and breathe deeply.  I wipe my eyes and drink the water sitting on my nightstand before my feet hit the ground.  I walk to the window, slide the plush white curtains to the edge, and allow my eyes to get their first glimpse of the morning sky.  Inhale & Exhale.

Read More
Nightmares

Roaches. They haunt my first memories. In Lubbock, TX circa age two, my twin sister and I both woke up from bad dreams. We set out to seek comfort. Reaching our parents required a journey across the house.

We knew endless dark bugs waited for us.

Read More
A Letter of Gratitude by Author Sonny Regelman

“It was 1997, and I was 23 and working in Boston in my first professional job as a sales service representative for an educational publisher. I answered the 1-800 hotline and spoke with customers all day. But my goal was to become an editor.

One unsuspecting day about six months into the job, my coworkers and I were gathered to learn that our department was being eliminated.”

Read More
“I don’t LIKE salad!”

The lobby of my YMCA was in full Saturday bustle. I chirped my entry card and veered to the right around the staircase. Parents herded their kids, trying to make an exit.

“I don’t LIKE salad!” I heard a toddler announce right before he almost ran into me.

I scooched out of his way and smiled. Honestly, it didn’t sound like he was throwing a fit. It was more an honest assertion.

I wanted to lean down and say, “I feel you buddy.”

Read More
STUCK

My little VW Beetle was parked close to a curb at a friend’s house. Their grassy lawn sat on the other side. As I opened the door to get in, the sharp lime-green corner stuck in the earth. As hard as I pulled, I couldn’t get it free.

Read More