Empathic Ink

The  award-winning Mountain Makins Festival is an Appalachian Folklife Festival celebrating the unique culture of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Known for high-quality crafts and artisans, the festival features a juried arts & crafts fair, top regional musical talent, storytellers, authors, children's activities, and more. It also includes demonstrations of traditional crafts, such as blacksmithing, basket making, and woodturning. All activities take place at the historic Rose Center . Mountain Makins 2014 I was invited to be a part of Mountain Makins again, this year, so mark your calendar so you can stop by & say hi! I'll be in the author's section! From the acknowledgments of my most recent book, Paranormal Pariah of Prater Hall : Bill Landry and Janae Mitchell There’s one more thing before I go… I’d like to acknowledge Rose Center, which is the historic building that inspired this story. As a kid, I took dance lessons there. Walking down the hallways, it ...

As a mom, I was rather strict. We did let our kids live life, but we also had rules that we expected to be followed. Even so, I'd be questioned as to why they weren't allowed to do something or get the occasional, "But so-and-so's mom lets them." My favorite comeback for this was, "Maybe so-and-so's mom doesn't love them as much as I love you." That one usually shut them up. How could they argue with love? As a mom, I've been hated. Neither of my kids ever said it to me, but I'm sure they thought it. And when that happened, especially as they got older, it hurt. The way I see it, though, if you're not hated (or at least strongly disliked) at some point, you're not doing it right. If we try to make our kids happy 100% of the time, we're failing them and ourselves. As a mom, we learn as we go. Yes, there are numerous books telling you how someone thinks you should parent, but let's get real, here. Every child, family, and en...

In March of last year, my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. On one hand, we're thankful that's all it is and that as long as she doesn't eat gluten at all for the rest of her entire life , she'll be okay. On the other hand, Celiac Disease is no joke! It's not a simple food allergy. It's an autoimmune disease that can affect her entire system, not just her stomach, and it has. Looking back at the problems she started having in middle school, a lot of things make sense, now. Is it all connected to Celiac? We'll never know. However, after doing a lot of research, I'd say it played a role in a lot of it. That's why I wanted to share our experience because, from what I've learned so far, this disease affects everyone differently. Joint Pain Around sixth grade, my daughter started complaining that her knees hurt when she bent down and that her ankles sometimes caused her pain when she walked. After talking to her pediatrician about her disc...

I often hear parents of newborns say, “It’ll be easier in a few months when they’re on a better sleeping and feeding schedule.” That never happens. They often say, “It’ll be easier when they’re toddlers and can do more.” Yes, they can do a lot more, leaving you chasing them everywhere and tired for several years. Then they say, “Oh, I can’t wait until they start school so I can take a break.” And then your baby goes to get out of the car on that 3 rd day and starts to cry, not wanting to go and have to leave you, yet again, for what feels like an eternity. You’ll cry, too. Then it’s, “It’ll be so much easier when they can drive themselves to school and ball practice.” And then you worry yourself sick every time they get behind the wheel or ride with a friend. During those tough teenage years, they say, “I can’t wait for them to grow up and start living their own lives.” Then, they do. That’s the part no one warned me about! Letting go, for me, has 100% been the hardest part of be...