She’s baaack! New Web site, new blog …

It’s been quite a while since I’ve written in this space, and I’ve missed it.  Though the time seems right to return, it’s not as easy to do it as I’d hoped – I guess I’m rusty, but that’s part of The Struggle of life, right? The happy news is that although I walked away from blogging for a long while, I have returned to this medium that I love, which makes me wonder, what things have YOU put aside that YOU truly enjoy?

So here I am, having learned a lot in the last four years, both professionally and personally. Changes and challenges have occupied my heart, mind, and time, and to show you what I mean, here’s a look at just a few: I’ve closed my thriving San Antonio, Texas therapy practice and moved to my home state of Arkansas to be near my family and boyfriend. Moving, of course, meant applying for a Marriage & Family Therapy license in Arkansas, and that was a demanding 14-month process – ugh!

And a move … even when a happy choice, is stressful and expensive. I went from years of owning a comfortable single mom home in Texas to storing most of my belongings and living alone in a rental property in Little Rock … this limbo period brought a feeling of being unsettled.

Add to that the tragic death of my beloved and adored Marine scout sniper son, Benjamin, in Afghanistan in October 2011. This is the most profound life-changing event that words cannot adequately describe. It is heartbreaking and something I think about and process every day. I’m learning to live with the constant ache in my heart, but add to that the differences between factions in the family about my son’s legacy, and The Struggle continues.

I often tell my clients, you can let the events of life bring you down, or you can feel that stress and pain and keep going. In the end, the strong truly do survive and thrive. Many times it helps me to recall one evening in graduate school when a professor talking about Buddhism told our class that when life’s inevitable obstacles present themselves, a Buddhist embraces them with an attitude of thankfulness for all the rich lessons, wisdom, compassion and growth that will surely come from them. I’m working on this one.

So that’s the last few years in a nutshell, and as seasons change so does life.  The boyfriend I talked about above is now my fiance, and I am so happy about it. He is so perfectly matched for me that I feel he was made to order – no, he’s not perfect, just perfect for me. The lessons I’ve learned in 11 years of being single – and patiently alone – I hope to pass on to you. In the months to come he and I will wed and move into a home and life will become settled again, life comes full circle.

My next challenges will be to be the best wife a woman could hope to be, and to keep learning and growing as a therapist so I can bring my clients every possible tool to help them in their own growth process.  Watch here for how this unfolds over the coming months.

And while I passionately love writing about The Struggle, I also love reading and learning from what YOU have to say. I encourage you to share your own Struggles and I will comment if I feel there is something to add.

I really look forward to connecting and growing along with you.