If you want to know who I am, read these

In the last year, I've written some really hilarious stuff.  I've written some really controversial and politically charged pieces.  And I wrote these.

These are the pieces that go the furthest to explaining who I am.  What makes me tick.  What has made me the way I am.  These are the posts nearest and dearest to my heart.  Many of them brought me to tears as I wrote them, some still make me cry when I read them now.  Some compelled me to turn off the computer and walk away.

With most of them, I was terrified to hit the publish button.  Afraid of what people would think. Afraid of being judged.

I've learned a lot about myself this year.  Some of the lessons were excruciating.  I brought you with me on this journey, and I thank you for coming along.

An open book for the world to read, I am.



Mothering a child just like me.

The reason I'll always believe in the tooth fairy.

If I could write a letter to my younger self, I wouldn't. Here's why.

Why everyone needs to sit down right now and talk about dying.

I am.

If you've ever really lost yourself, you know what I mean.

It's not just a team, it's a family.

The morning of 9/11, burned into my mind. Not like you think.

Why Lance disappointed me, and it has nothing to do with the bike.

Grief is a real bitch sometimes.

Keeping my head above water.

This is just how crazy I am. Fortunately, I'm not alone.

Love and marriage are not the same.

What betrayal really feels like.

Motherhood: your time is fleeting, and you don't even notice.

A confession about my past.

The hardest thing I learned this year.