fun fact: the scars on my face are from a dog bite when I was a baby. he was our dog. and I guess he didn’t like my rough play style (still have that problem). dude chomped down right on the middle of my face.

I couldn’t get stitches, so I was just a baby toddling around with slasher movie face for a bit.

I never was bothered by the scars. as long as I knew my face, it had them on there… so it was just what my face was.

then the large mole at the center of my forehead popped up somewhere in teenage land…

I just woke up one morning moled. and it’s *exactly* in the center of my forehead… which, let’s be real- is pretty damn impressive for a mole, yeah?. proud of her.

and considering the left side of my face already had 4 (ahem) beauty marks that create a perfect and large square, I’m overall pretty proud of the attention to symmetry my face marks seem to have.

I’m fine with the marks on my face. I’m sure I’d maybe like it more if I didn’t have them… but whatever. It’s my only face and I’m cool with it. so they can stick around. and hey, who knows – maybe I’ll grow more marks for them to play with tonight. (fun game, yeah?).

sometimes in the right light I look like I have a black eye and a crooked nose with a witch head wart.

and then sometimes, in the right light, they’re all completely hidden…

same exact things to be seen, but the scenery around it shifts enough for your lens to show you something totally different.

and that’s life, yeah?.

there are a lot of scars and moles and shadows out in the world right now. a lot of darkness and evil. and we can keep shining the right light on them to make them more visible- to give them a platform or excuse to be seen and heard…

or we can choose to stand under the kind of light that makes them fade into the background until they’re barely noticeable anymore.

it doesn’t mean the bad things go away. it just means we choose to see them differently in order to live a happier life.

it’s all about perspective. it’s all about choice. and it’s all about staying on the track that leads to a better place to be.

decide now through what lens you choose to look, and you’ll get to where you want to be.

all you have to do is make a choice

love you. and all of your marks

my daughter reminds me to marvel at hidden and overlooked treasures. a walk in the woods is never complete without stopping to notice fallen flowers, or broken stones shaped in a way that makes her brain sparkle. she loves leaves- the bigger, the better. she will make them be hat or flag or blanket for ants.

she sees things other children don’t and things adults have forgotten to look for.

she cries at movies when the hero’s soul is aching but laughs when the dinosaur rips the face off the actor.

she is not easy.  she is complex and booming and filled with words she must let go of immediately.  she is alive and proving it at every turn.  often i need a break to breathe and recharge before i can keep up with her. but the payoff is always monumental and i miss her within minutes of not having her there.

i knew that when i gave her this name, she would have big things to say.  this is why she is here.  she is here to teach and speak and create.

she will sit on the front porch with our aging cat and sing to her. talk to her. be with her.

she listens to the people, places and things we didn’t think had a voice.

she knows things other children don’t and things adults have forgotten is real.

she is made of magic and I’ve always known it.

she is smarter than I ever tried to be and I’m learning from her daily.

do yourself a favor today and stop- even for a moment- and look at something the way a child does. listen to someone in order to learn something.

be kind. be present. be child.

love y’all. now let’s make some friday magic.

This began as an Instagram only post (because, I’m sorry y’all, but it’s just easier to write something quick under a photo these days), but then I changed my mind.

So here’s a little short hand for ya

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