When it’s Still Tough: The Season After a Challenging Season

It seems there is a lot written about navigating the truly tough times of illnesses, injuries, and other challenging moments. However, there is less written about the season that follows the difficult one. There seems to be an unwritten rule that this season should be exclusively full of joy, gratitude, and celebration. And, in a lot of ways, it is! However, when less comfortable emotions, such as anxiety and fear linger at the party, it can feel disappointing. It can also feel lonely. Because, it is really tough to explain that your life is full of good news and gratitude, but you are still feeling a bit terrible.

Summer Break

The Unexpected Ever Afters is taking a brief break to soak in the summer sunshine and will return shortly! In the meantime, enjoy some throwback posts from our 2025 Summer Destination Shoutouts: An aMOOsing North Dakota Stop Trolls in the Woods Spend the Day on the Water in North Dakota National Park Junior Ranger Program …

Continue reading Summer Break

New Year: Focus on Living

As I prepared to write my 2025 post, I thought to myself, this year is going to be different, I am going to write about slowing down and living in the moment. Except as I re-read my past New Years posts, I realized that in essence this has been my theme all along.  It is a reminder of how easy it is for me throughout the year to get pulled into the hustle culture and catch phrases on how to successfully do it all, that I forget to remember that I previously decided not to buy into it. Nevertheless, this New Year I am recommitting to continuing the journey of enjoying the day-to-day life I live.

June Reflections

I enjoyed soaking up the start of summer with some extra time to spend with my family as well as additional time to relax. I found myself reading more, laughing more, and even sleeping more soundly.  In the blink of an eye, the month was over.  As I transitioned into July, I thought about a reflection practice that I learned from a favorite author of mine, Emily P. Freeman.