'Tis the season to be jolly, unless of course you have far too much to do. It isn't like we can ditch all of our other duties just to deck the halls. Holiday chores are simply piled onto our already too hectic schedules. Sure, Martha makes it look easy as she makes homemade, hand-carved reindeer but don't

Word Count: 810 Oh My God A Girl! "OH MY GOD A GIRL!!" This was the cry I was met with when I arrived to meet our group for a 5 day canoe trip down New Zealand's Wanganui River. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?!" a wary fellow in his 50's exclaimed. I assured him that since I knew a heck

I grew up living with my mother, and sometimes my father when he wasn't underneath the ocean in a submarine. I wasn't the only child at home, but it often felt that way, and not just when I would lock my sister in the basement, either—my mom was good at making me feel like the best pumpkin in the patch. My

CELEBRATING TRIUMPH At age seven I was sexually abused by my father and grandfather. Those memories were repressed until four years ago, at age 33. After several years of therapy and a supportive family, I began to heal. I became stronger during that healing process. By looking inward to

BEATING THE ODDS I met Joe when I was fifteen. We were married eight months after we met. I was 16 and he was 19. I could not drive and I dropped out of school right after the wedding. This was the beginning of eight years of struggling, sacrificing, and heartache. I became more and more dependant