Category: Uncategorized
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Today is Independence Day. As Americans, we tend to celebrate independence as something unquestionably good. Freedom. Strength. Self-sufficiency. The ability to stand on our own. And those things have their place. But I have also learned that personal independence comes with a price. Especially when it is learned and not necessarily chosen. I didn’t become…
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I am going to be sharing something today that is exceptionally private. To me. And once you finish reading this, you’re going to think, “Seriously? THAT is private?“ The answer is a resounding “yes.” I guess it wasn’t long after my daughter left home that I took a hard look at my life and realized…
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If you are new here, you may have questions about my blog name. Raspberry Iced M. It’s a fair question. To answer that question, I have to rewind time. About 20 years ago, Sonic aired this commercial advertising raspberry iced tea: For reasons I still cannot adequately explain… I laugh every time I watch it.…
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I’m taking a break from my usual content to share some completely useless facts that I know, in hopes that it will distract me from the grief I am currently processing. And on that note, I don’t want a funeral – but if I did – I’d probably have to hire people to show up…
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As I have mentioned, I go to therapy every Tuesday. Today was no different. 8 a.m. It’s the same routine. Drive in silence. Park the car. Enter the office. Grab Kleenex. Drop my keys and phone on the couch beside me so that I’m not tempted to fidget. We talked about something today that I…
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The kindest thing we can do for someone is listen. Not fix. Not advise. Not correct. Not compare. Not explain why that person “shouldn’t” feel the way that they feel. Not rationalize. Just listen. And for some reason, that is much harder than it sounds. Most of us listen to respond. I’ve caught myself doing…
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I have never been great at choosing my battles. Because I chose all of them. Give me all the fights. I thought maturity meant addressing everything. Every misunderstanding.Every criticism.Every assumption.Every slight.Every opportunity to defend myself. I thought that if I explained myself clearly enough, people would get it. Get me.If I corrected the record often…
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The South loves its “festivals.” There is one in almost every town from Shreveport to Vicksburg, on varying weekends throughout the Spring and Summer. On Saturday, my family and I attended the 76th Annual Peach Festival in Ruston, Louisiana, which is about one hour away from where we live. We had never been to this…
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I am going to say something now that I wished someone had told me a long time ago: Peace looks a lot like boredom when chaos is the norm. Granted, someone did tell me that once. I didn’t believe her anymore than I expect you to believe me now. When we’re young and impressionable and…
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As I continue to walk in integrity, there are certain old ways of thinking I have had to confront, challenge, and intentionally attempt to correct. I said earlier this week that I took a break for a couple of weeks to rest. And that really was true. I had worn myself out during a two-week…
Raspberry Iced M 