Author Archives: Annie Smith

Soooo, you’ve joined the empty-nester ranks, have you?!?! First and foremost, congratulate yourself on a job well done, my friend! You survived sleepless nights with an infant, kept from killing yourself through the terrible two’s….in my case terrorist three’s…..back to sleepless nights only this time with testy teens…..you survived!! Or, rather, your kid survived! NowContinue reading “Job well done!!”

Happy Sunday, friends. I’ve been having some serious thoughts roaming around in my head centering on self-worth…so, naturally, I have come to sit in front of the keyboard. At first, I sat down with the intent to write this post to all of my lady friends/readers…but then I thought surely my male friends might struggleContinue reading “What’s Your Worth?”

From the time that we are little, society in one way or another influences our idea of what it is we are supposed to do in life. You know what I am talking about, don’t you? Be a good child for your parent(s), go to school, do all the activities, go to college, and finallyContinue reading “Is it OK to just BE for awhile?”

Whoever made up that term, anyway? It’s catchy but it also doesn’t prepare you for the myriad of emotions you go through….or the personal re-evaluation of your sense of self. As a parent, you raise your child to go forth unto the world and become a productive member of society (or at least you hope).Continue reading “Officially an EMPTY-NESTER…..”

Father’s Day has come and gone. It was the first without my dad. I was filled with so many emotions. It was also the last first without my dad. My daughter has graduated high school. My family came that could make it. It was my first and my last high school graduation with her. SoonContinue reading “The In-Between”

Weight?!?! Taboo subject with most women, I think….sort of like never ask a woman her age….never ask her weight either! Do you ever notice how people are super quick to say something about how much weight you’ve lost…..but they whisper behind your back at how much weight you’ve gained….ever notice that, huh huh? Well, guessContinue reading “Carrying the weight…”

So, one random day and an even more random conversation with a teenager, I was introduced to the term “girly-pop”. Today’s teenagers most definitely have their own language that good ‘ol Webster ought to write a whole separate dictionary for – don’t cha think? Being a mom is something I have always wanted….in fact, IContinue reading “Hey, girly-pop….”

It’s been a few months since my dad died and I am slowly getting into the swing of him not being in this life. I have moments where I think “oh shit, gotta call my pops!” and the reality quickly jumps in and reminds me I can’t just pick up the phone. I let myselfContinue reading “Life and shit…”

When you’re a kid you don’t really think about death because when you’re a kid you are invincible, right?!?! Well, at least that’s what I thought anyway. When you get older, death starts to become a thing because you start to experience ‘ol folk gettin’ all dead and shit…..sorry, my emotional attempt to be funnyContinue reading “Death is a thing….”

February 6, 2005 – two days before she was born – we were on our way to the hospital and stopped at Starbucks because the coffee in the hospital sucked. I remember thinking to myself “holy crap, this is really happening” and we drove away from the Starbucks for the last time as a familyContinue reading “Oh wow….it’s time”

Do you ever look at someone and think you wish you could be them? Or wish you could have someone else’s life? There’s that saying “the grass is always greener on the other side” and I think it is apropo when we look at someone else and assume they are happier on their greener grass.Continue reading “Do you ever….”

As we near the end of Summer, I have so many thoughts, so many reflections, and so many questions. This next year is going to bring so many changes in my life and in my daughters life. She graduates high school…..the end of her childhood is right around the corner and I cannot be moreContinue reading “So many thoughts….”

So, I recently got to travel to the United Kingdom to see Harry Styles in concert. One of the things that seems to have stuck with me is how he interacted with the crowd. He was Harry and the crowd were just his friends. He was humble, he was adoring, he was empathetic to allContinue reading “Humanity”

What is fate?

So, I have always raised my daughter to be confident, strong, independent, and above all else to believe in herself and her truth as she believes. Some might say “what the eff does that mean?” – well, it’s whatever she wants to believe, how she wants to believe it at 17. If I have taughtContinue reading “Can you really reinvent yourself?”

One of my favorite things in life is to have random conversations about anything and everything and with anyone. One day when I was in the grocery store I was chatting with this unknown person, The Dude (aka my ex-husband, baby-daddy, etc.) whispered in my ear “what are you doing? Do you know this person?”Continue reading “Conversations”

I know death is part of life….life is a circle. We’re born, we grow, we live, we age, and we die….I get that…I know it. But no matter how much we tell ourselves that death is part of the life circle, it is so NOT easier to face. I think many of us forget aboutContinue reading “To Live and Die”

I’ve been thinking about something….I know, I know SHOCKER….I’m always thinking. The past two days (probably because it’s Passover) I’ve really been thinking about religion. Did you know that according to The Google, there are 4,300 religions in this world? WTAF?!?! No wonder wars have been fought and lost because of religion!! Humans are complexContinue reading “Humans and Religion”

Why do we neglect ourselves for everyone else around us? Why do we have this deep-seeded guilt that we MUST care for everyone else to the point where we forget to take care of the person standing in the mirror? Now, I am talking about taking care of someone in all aspects – not justContinue reading “Ugggghhhh!”

We’ve all got childhood stories and memories – some great, and some not so good. It never ceases to amaze my mind how something so incredibly insignificant like a bar of soap can be associated with my childhood memories. Smells, textures, colors, even sounds we associate with things, people, or events in our lives thatContinue reading “What triggers your memories?”

No, it’s not a day to go shopping because there’s a huge Veteran’s Day sale going on somewhere. It’s a day meant to recognize all those who have served in the United States military or are currently serving. But, I have to ask myself – what, exactly, is Veteran’s Day to me? To me, Veteran’sContinue reading “What is Veteran’s Day?”