Dear John,
Thank you for finally paying child support. Because of your initial reaction to having to pay it resulted in you kidnapping our daughter, making up lies and refusing to let stella come home, I have had quite a few legal fees and fines to pay. BUT guess what? You have been paying all of those with your monthly payments! Thank you! You have made things so much more easier to manage. Big thumbs up to you!
Oh, and the child protection worker saw right through your claims, as anyone with a brain would. Good luck next time.

Every moment is a chance to make a choice.
I choose to be authentically me. I have chosen to share p i e c e s of my life via social media. I choose to express love and inspiration be it in person, online, or sending waves from afar. I choose to focus on what I love. And perhaps what I love may not be for everyone; I choose to be okay with that. I can choose to react, I can choose to defend, or I can choose to let it be. And just like that, in this moment of choice, I choose to let it be. To judge is to move away from love.

New title. New introduction.

If you were looking for my blog, you have found it. If you just happened to stumble across it, well hello there, lost traveller! I hope you find some interesting reading and images here.

First off, I have to say that I don't really expect many people who know me in real life to come across this unless they are looking for information on me. So, if you do come across this because of that reason, feel free to sit and watch. I'm not going to slip up, so you will probably be wasting your time. I mainly use this as an outlet for some of the beautiful things I find on the internet, my own photo's, positive life happenings and the occasional rant (we're all allowed to let off some steam every now and then).

I will not be posting nudes/selfies of myself in my daggy undies, anything to do with my mental health, negative happenings in my life, my personal failures, etc. If you are here for dirt, you are going to be disappointed.

His pledge to her:

i will kill the spiders. i will share my fries with you when you've finished all yours and are still hungry. i won’t ever pop my collar. i will never be rude to your tummy- when i hear it growl and gurgle. i promise to bend down and reply respectfully. i will eat the mushrooms when we order the supreme pizza. i will kiss the paper cuts  and the door-slammed finger, and the counter-bumped hip. i'll try my hardest not to get annoyed when you whisper questions and comments during movies. i will be the big spoon. i will let you win at wrestling, sometimes. other times i will not. i will go faster. harder. i will pull when you want. and tease you when you don’t. i will send you random texts and leave you silly gifts. not always. not on schedule. just whenever i want to. whenever i think you need one. or seven. i will check your tire pressure. and remind you to take your car in. i will hold your hand. i will love you.  i will love you. i will love you.

This is how you lose her. 

You lose her when you forget to remember the little things that mean the world to her: the sincerity in a stranger’s voice during a trip to the grocery, the delight of finding something lost or forgotten like a sticker from when she was five, the selflessness of a child giving a part of his meal to another, the scent of new books in the store, the surprise short but honest notes she tucks in her journal and others you could only see if you look closely.

You must remember when she forgets. 

You lose her when you don’t notice that she notices everything about you: your use of the proper punctuation that tells her continuation rather than finality, your silence when you’re about to ask a question but you think anything you’re about to say to her would be silly, your mindless humming when it is too quiet, your handwriting when you sign your name in blank sheets of paper, your muted laughter when you are trying to be polite, and more and more of what you are, which you don’t even know about yourself, because she pays attention.

She remembers when you forget. 

You lose her for every second you make her feel less and less of the  beauty that she is. When you make her feel that she is replaceable.She wants to feel cherished. When you make her feel that you are fleeting. She wants you to stay. When you make her feel inadequate.She wants to know that she is enough and she does not need to change for you, nor for anyone else because she is she and she is beautiful, kind and good.

You must learn her. 

You must know the reason why she is silent. You must trace her weakest spots. You must write to her. You must remind her that you are there. You must know how long it takes for her to give up. You must be there to hold her when she is about to. 

You must love her because many have tried and failed. And she wants to know that she is worthy to be loved, that she is worthy to be kept.

And, this is how you keep her.