Guest Post: 7 Signs of a Toxic Relationship by Looking for the Light

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Even in the best of times, relationships can be complicated. Sometimes we know something is wrong, but we're not sure whether we should keep trying to make it work and whether the problem lies within our own actions or those of the other person. On her Looking for the Light blog, Melinda Sandor of Texas… Continue reading Guest Post: 7 Signs of a Toxic Relationship by Looking for the Light

Who is Family? by K E Garland: Reblog

Photo of author/blogger K E Garland
Photo of author/blogger K E Garland
Photo of author/blogger K E Garland.

Holidays and New Year celebrations are when messages about what family should and shouldn’t make me want to gag. They generalize everyone into one big homogenous lump.

That’s when I step back and take stock of the people I know. It does my heart good to see that we’re individuals — and that includes our families, the ones we make, or our lack thereof.

What are your thoughts on family?

Here blogger and author of books, K E Garland, describes how being adopted shapes her concept of family…

kegarland's avatarK E Garland

Being adopted has shaped the way I view who is family and who is not. When I found out I was adopted over thirty years ago, I saw the people around me in a different light. I saw them as strangers, yet I still accepted them as family because they had taught me to do so. I instantly realized that any combination of people could make a family.

img_8185In this way, I accepted my mother and father as my family unit. These were the people who’d decided to raise me from infancy as their own. They loved me, and I them. But when my mother died and my father gave up his parental rights, I began to question the definition. Was my adopted father not my father anymore simply because the Court said he wasn’t? I mean the Court deemed him my father in 1974, and so he was. Was…

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Willie Nelson: Vote ’em Out VIDEO by da-AL

Nelson, 2016, Topeka, Kansas.

That's what election day's all about! Willie Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, author, poet, actor, and activist. https://youtu.be/bt-n0zu6MjM&rel=0 Willie Nelson – Vote 'Em Out lyrics [Verse 1] If you don't like who's in there, vote 'em out That's what Election Day is all about The biggest gun we've got… Continue reading Willie Nelson: Vote ’em Out VIDEO by da-AL

Now We Are 2 (only): Sweet Lola is Sorely Missed by da-AL

Lola, our black Labrador mix dog, is sorely missed.

Our home is too quiet, too empty without our dear Lola. Last Wednesday, she joined her twin brother, Pierre. We were privileged to have her. Like Pierre, she was loyal in every way to the end. The two were trusting, kind, obedient, and fun loving. Second in her heart only to her human family was… Continue reading Now We Are 2 (only): Sweet Lola is Sorely Missed by da-AL

My Road to Getting Published by Geoffrey Simpson

Geoffrey Simpson, author of The Three Hares

The story of how author Geoffrey Simpson, who just released "The Three Hares," got his first book published -- in his own words... On a gloomy January morning, the air was heavy and uninspired. I read an article about ancient symbols—a distraction from those about politics, rife with propaganda. One symbol, with three rabbits chasing one another… Continue reading My Road to Getting Published by Geoffrey Simpson