One Day At a Time
Nine years ago, we celebrated our first Christmas Eve as a family of three. It felt too overwhelming to get our massive Christmas tree from the attic crawl space, so I purchased a one-foot lit tree from Valley View Farms which we blinged out with ornaments. We continued other family traditions, such as Chinese food…
Freedom
Freedom. Webster’s Dictionary has several definitions, including the “absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government” and “the state of not being enslaved.” Fourth of July has traditionally recognized the victory in the Revolutionary War that led to freedom from English rule. In recent years, this celebration has been met with scrutiny as more…
Tell Me About Her
One year ago today, the suspect in Rachel’s murder case was apprehended by police. It had been a long year of waiting, interspersed with beautiful moments of connection with others who sought justice for Rachel – many who had never even met my beautiful best friend. ••••••• It was June 11, 2024 and my first…
A Light in the Darkness
It was August 6, one year after we lost Rachel. I was sitting in the parking lot of Smoothie King when a message popped up on my phone from one of Rachel’s family members. They had just seen my post about my walk on the Ma and Pa Trail in Rachel’s memory, and asked if…
Another Door Opens
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Eight years ago today, my husband told me he wanted a divorce. If only I had been home more and spent less time…
The Paradise of Home
There were so many times I wanted to sell my little log home in the woods. When the snow made our long, winding driveway impassable for months. When the wolf spiders the size of hands clung to the basement walls. When the lack of Internet led me to the Wawa parking lot to connect to…
Kindred Spirits
It was July 30 and I had a long day ahead. Two of our beloved goats were very ill and needed round the clock care. My anxiety was mounting as their conditions worsened, but I still hoped both would pull through. “Hey! Are you in the area today?” It was a text from my best…
Be the Change
When I was in preschool, our class was visited by an African-American Santa Claus. Afterwards, I told my mother it wasn’t the real Santa. “Why?” she asked me. “Because he didn’t have a beard!” I replied. In 8th grade, my teacher asked us to raise our hands if we had never heard our parents say…
Just Getting Started!
Recently, a friend told me I was “past my prime.” Ironically, it was meant as a compliment — my friend was admiring a photo from three years prior and made an offhand comment that in that photo, I was in my “prime.” They seemed baffled when I took offense to the notion that my best…
The Rachel I Knew
“Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, said ‘I’m here for you’ and proved it.” Seven years ago, I came across a meme with this quote and it reminded me immediately of my friend Rachel. In just a couple short months, we had become inseparable as we…
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The Claudia Brown 