A storm is coming. It’s time to prepare. Warnings constantly blasting on every news channel, telling us we must get away.

Grocery store shelves are emptying fast. No water to be found. Generators sold out.

How can this be? The storm is a week out.

Beaches erase as the storm moves north, leaving us in shock at the fury and appetite of what's headed our way.

Another storm is at work out of our sight. One not expected at all. One that leaves us frozen in shock and utterly speechless.

A loving, cherished, and adored child is taken too soon. The phone call no mother or father ever wants to receive.

While the storm rages outside and the news quickly spreads to all of those touched by this young man, our darkened rooms suddenly fill with pain and Mother Nature doesn't seem so scary after all.

Now the skies have cleared and trees are being removed. Power is slowly being restored.

While many people are struggling with flooded homes and cars, there is one family whose hearts have been flooded with pain. That tide will never recede.

We will stand close by and help as we can, holding on to precious memories and good times we have shared, watch as the sunrise grabs a new day, knowing there is a new angel smiling from Heaven.

We are quickly reminded of the greatest gift we can give and our most treasured possession, love.

So for those of you still weathering the storm, whatever it may be, hold each other tight; you never know when it might be the last night.

~ In loving memory of Malachy. You will be missed!!

There is something mysterious about him. I can't quite figure it out. It's baffling as to why in the world I am drawn into this curiosity about a complete stranger. He looks over and catches me staring at him, grins, and goes back to his zombie land, a/k/a cell phone. Probably posting about some crazy stalker lady as I write this. 

Am I a stalker? Never really thought I could be, but today I am questioning that theory.

And now the brain goes wild.  I start plotting all kinds of scenarios and begin pondering where he's from, how did he get here, what school did he go to, did he play sports, how many kids does he have, is he married, widowed or divorced. Oh, make it stop!  This is absolutely crazy! 

Then, all of a sudden, he gets up and, just like that, he's gone.

Now I will never have the true answers. An opportunity wasted? I think not. Time to make up a story. Will he be a hero or the villain in my story? Could he have been the one they warned us all about with "stranger danger"? Will he be someone we admire or someone we hate? Close your eyes, breathe, let the stories begin.

They say each day starts with a new beginning.  The challenge for me is to figure out exactly what that new beginning should be.  You see, I have spent the last 22 years being a mom.  Granted, I still have a teenager, but he doesn't seem that interested in spending time with me.  Those on-line gaming enemies and challenges with his friends are far more alluring to him. As long as there are groceries in the pantry, he seems good to go.

I spent so many years stressing about getting to and from work and school activities and balancing the calendar with not enough hours in the day.  My newfound "extra time" has been filled with laundry and household chores.  Oh, the days I craved for a clean house. Well, it seems that day has arrived and I don't really enjoy cleaning that much after all.

Being a mom is something I'm good at. I can micromanage with the best of them and bark out orders to my little minions like nobody's business. But now that the nest is basically empty, I find myself a little lost. I'm now trying to figure out what I'm good "for".  

Many articles suggest starting a new hobby, striking up old friendships, get that organizing done you've been putting off.  And, trust me, it's great to have that time back, but it definitely doesn't make me feel "needed".  

I think that's the main struggle in my mind.  I can volunteer for all kinds of committees and church activities, but, let's face it, I'm not necessarily needed.  There's always someone else to fill those shoes.

However, being a mom......well, that's a job where you truly are irreplaceable.  Absolutely no one else in the world can take my place.  I'm sure I made many mistakes along the way, but I don't think my kids' counseling bills will be too high, although they may have a different opinion.  

I know I still need to answer the phone and have hugs ready for their authentic real-world problems and obstacles as they face them, but those are becoming more and more spaced out.  As it turns out, they're pretty good at micromanaging themselves.

Other articles suggest it's time for my husband and I to start dating again.  The challenge there is we are two totally different people than we were two decades ago.  We sure can't stay up until 3 a.m. clubbing the night away.  However, if last call was at 10 p.m., we might still be good to go!

If we were to have too many drinks, it might take a week to recover. Gone are the days of "ladies night" and still making it to work on time the next day. Plus, no one wants to see me in my '80s spandex outfits, parachute pants, and banana clips. 

So, World, look out.  I am on a mission to find out what I'm good "for" and I have no idea where this may lead me.  It could be exciting or it could be comical, but, regardless, this is happening.  As my children leave this nest to discover the world and find themselves, then it's time for me to do so also......again.

Pulled out of my dreams I hear noises that I can't quite comprehend.

Wearing my happy, bright-colored rainbow and unicorn cotton nightgown, I stumble down the hall to find out what it is.  

There with my sleepy eyes I discover my mother and stepdad completely naked and my stepdad is screaming at her.  She is totally incoherent and he is slapping her.

Maybe I should mention at this point that I was only four years old.

Confused, I go to my safe spot, under the bed.

I don't scream, I don't speak up, I just run.

I have no memory of what happened between that moment and when my mother's best friend finds me hiding and coaxes me out of my temporary safe haven.

I only have tiny glimpses of memories from that portion of my life.

I do, however, have anger that I can't quite contain sometimes, full of resentment towards my mother for that child I wanted to be and the reality of the child I actually was.  

Always moving, always running, always starting over.

You see, my mother has mental issues.  In my unprofessional opinion, I would venture to say she's bipolar.

Years later I discovered that what happened that particular night was an attempted suicide, one of many.

This time she overdosed on pills.

People who have known me since my childhood and teenage years are always saying they are impressed how I've turned out, that they really didn't expect much from me because of where I came from.

Talk about a slap in the face.  Do I say thank you???

But I choose to see it differently, or at least redirect my mind when it starts to wander into the darker shadows.

I choose to look at all the people who were willing to find me and pull me back out, pull me into some form of normalcy when my mother was unable.

Those people were my saving grace.  

So, in a way, perhaps I was luckier than most.  I had many "mothers" willing to step in, willing to hold my hand, wipe my tears, encouraging me to learn and grow.

They are the ones who continued to reach under the bed and pull me back out.

And to them, I am eternally grateful.

Do you hear that?  Silence is a quizzical thing, isn't it?   It can hold so much power over us.  

For a yogi, it's a moment to ponder and reflect, to release the mind of daily whirlwinds and challenges that surround them and a place to find inner peace.

For others, silence is a scary time. Squandering in silence can awaken all of the insecurities and self-doubts, mistakes of the past, and future unknowns.  It can quickly bring back memories thought to once be long forgotten.

So can you choose and redirect which silent path you are currently on?  Can you reach into the depths of your mind and choose how to fill the void?  Which silent black-and-white film will you watch today?

Will it be the memory of playing hide-and-seek, where silence was crucial to win the game?  Will it be that first dance with the love of your life and bring a smile to your face? Will it be dreaded thoughts of what will happen to your loved ones in years to come, the overwhelming feeling of loss that you've endured as the years have gone by, or the tightness in your chest of panic because you still don't even know who you really are?

For today, will silence be your friend or foe?  Will you treasure the silent memories, reflect on future aspirations, or will you be frozen in fear?

Silence empowers our feelings, desires, strengths, weaknesses, fears, and inspiration.  And yet one of the greatest mysteries is that all of these can arise from simply nothing, complete and utter silence.