There's a lot swimming around in my brain right now, and for some reason it kind of came to a head last night as I tried to drift off to sleep. Isn't that always the way? For those of you who don't know me personally, I'm married to a Lutheran (ELCA) pastor. He serves a… Continue reading Attachment, abandonment, and being a pastor’s spouse in the time of Covid
Author: aliveawakeuncomfortable
We should be uncomfortable with this
I am feeling my blog title acutely, in the wake of ANOTHER mass school shooting. Alive: Well, in a country with a gun obsession that claims to be more about "my rights!" than worshiping guns, I made it another day in the USA without being gunned down in a supermarket, church, school, public park, or… Continue reading We should be uncomfortable with this
From the comfort of our own couch…
We've hit that (perhaps inevitable?) milestone in this pandemic. Or maybe it's a milestone in our marriage? I mean, we entered the exhausted end-of-day post-kid-bedtime-mindlessly-watch-TV-and-chill mode several kids ago (not to be confused with "Netflix and Chill"; we're too old for that nonsense). 😆 But we are suddenly finding ourselves watching some of Netflix's recent… Continue reading From the comfort of our own couch…
A Tearful Admission
I know it's hard. You may feel overwhelmed. Or attacked. Unfairly accused. Frustrated. Threatened. And tears may come to your eyes. They may spill over and leak down your cheeks. That is okay. Crying is okay, and is not a signal of weakness. (Not that there's a problem with weakness, either. Strength looks different from… Continue reading A Tearful Admission
The Myth of Ready
As a young girl scout in the mid-1980s, our motto was drilled into us: "Be Prepared." On my honor, I will try... That mindset has always been an ideal for me, and has - in my better moments - shaped me to always have a snack or extra tampon in my purse, a stick of… Continue reading The Myth of Ready
Do I believe my own message?
Confessions of an Overthinker: I'm not sure I believe my own message enough to wear the shirt. Ok, so yeah, I bought it and I'm going to wear the shirt. It's soft, gorgeous, the best kind of warm in wintertime, and... most of me believes the message it is (and I am) sharing. (And for… Continue reading Do I believe my own message?
When Avoidance Ties You up in Knots
We all have things we avoid, or resist, in hopes that if we just ignore the issue for long enough that... it might just go away. Big things or small things. We just seem hardwired from a young age to avoid the hard and uncomfortable things that would work out much better if they were… Continue reading When Avoidance Ties You up in Knots
And So It Flows…
Hmm. The Universe apparently knew something when it dropped the notion of "flow" into my life for 2022. Here we are, 11 days in to the new year, and instead of boarding a plane to go to Florida tonight, we're a household in quarantine after one of the kids became symptomatic and tested positive for… Continue reading And So It Flows…
Feeling out “FLOW”
It's that time again - a new year! And though I'm the same person I was last year, with much of the same circumstances and problems as I had last year, I seem to be incapable of abandoning hope for new things and growth in the new year that lays stretched out before me. I'm… Continue reading Feeling out “FLOW”
It’s the most (fill in the blank) time of the year
There's no doubt that the close of the year can be wonderful and festive, but for so many people - and for so many reasons - it can also be stressful, lonely, conflicting, and a huge exercise in coping with expectations versus reality. I just made a list with 80+ names of people of whom… Continue reading It’s the most (fill in the blank) time of the year
alive. awake. uncomfortable. 