Back Around
Last Sunday morning, I slowly opened my car door and gingerly placed one sky-high wedge sandal after another onto gravel. The walk from my car to the church was a rocky one, the flat surface of the wedge incompatible with…
The New Me, the Old Me, and the Distance in Between
For almost two years, I have been chasing an old version of myself. She went missing several years ago, so gradually that I could not trace my steps back to the exact moment and location where I lost her. Maybe…
The Last to Know
The heart will always remember first. As the days pass, it will become more sensitive than usual, with every word, image, and sound evoking emotion. The soul will follow. It will grow heavy, all sighs and deep meditation. It will…
A Letter to My 80-Year-Old Self
At a time when everyone seems to be writing letters of reflection to their younger selves, I am instead focused on you. Young Sheryl may be near and dear to my heart, but she had her chance. This is yours. Before, you were…
Unfinished Business: Making Hard Decisions in the New Year
The world is a scary place when you don’t trust yourself. When you can rattle off a list of mistakes and bad decisions with the ease that Catholic school children recite the Holy Rosary, it is easy to question your…
Self-Discovery Tour: N is for Never-ending
On the eve of my 30th birthday, I knew myself better than I had at any other point in life. I was secure in who I was, digging the way I looked inside and out, and confident about the decade…
The Beauty in Admitting He Hurt You
“If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston I have been the strong, silent type before. Smothered the angry flames engulfing my heart without as much as a sideways…
