unconditional love

The Day the Buick Ran Out of Gas

The Buick was the plan. The Porsche became the story.

Lady Uppity had imagined motherhood beginning with grace and dignity. Instead, she found herself attempting to fold a very pregnant body into a Porsche because someone had forgotten to put gas in the Buick. She weighed all of ninety-eight pounds when she became pregnant—a mere wisp of a woman, her doctor remarked rather condescendingly. He… Continue reading The Day the Buick Ran Out of Gas

Love Leaves Fingerprints That Often Don’t Appear Until Years Later

Some gardens bloom long after the flowers are gone.

Lord Honey Bear loved to grow things. Not just vegetables or wildflowers, though he grew those beautifully. He grew gardens wherever life gave him a little patch of earth. Even the barren top of Lost Mesa, stripped nearly bare after years of overgrazing, became, in his hands, a place where native grasses swayed, and wildflowers… Continue reading Love Leaves Fingerprints That Often Don’t Appear Until Years Later

How Am I Not Myself

She was never not herself.

Refusing to Abandon Ourselves A few evenings ago, while watching a movie with Lady Birdsong, a single line caught Lady Uppity’s attention: How am I not myself? The question lingered. The longer she sat with it, the stranger it became, so much so that she set her wine glass down and jotted a note in… Continue reading How Am I Not Myself

The Quiet Search for Approval

Rest is not always laziness. Sometimes it is recovery from years of invisible effort.

Lady Uppity was exhausted and didn’t fully realize just how tired she was until her head hit the pillow that first night. She slept for hours, woke only long enough to eat some yummy fruit and toast — thanks to Lady Birdsong’s generosity and kindness — then promptly took another nap before going to bed… Continue reading The Quiet Search for Approval

The Uppity Woman and the Missing Television

Lady Uppity, choosing what plays next.

Lady Uppity discovers what was missing was never the television. Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Proper Behavior, women over sixty were expected to knit quietly and apologize for existing. Then one morning, upon discovering that her television was not in its usual place, Lady Uppity stormed through the palace shouting: “WHERE IS… Continue reading The Uppity Woman and the Missing Television

The Presence That Remains

Settling into myself

I once believed I could not find my way through life without you. I was wrong. Each day I am greeted by your face, your familiar smile, and I am filled again with awe — with gratitude for the presence that remains. You took me in — wounded, scared, desperate.You wrapped me in unconditional love… Continue reading The Presence That Remains

Presence Asks You to Feel What Cannot Be Fixed

A quiet cup of tea, light on the window, and nothing that needs fixing.

I am sitting here, fingers at the keyboard—aka, pen in hand—writing. Fear is present. She is almost always here. My knee-jerk reaction is to banish her. My ego voice says, Oh, my Lee! We have a ton of emails to respond to. And what about all the social media posts—people will think you are rude,… Continue reading Presence Asks You to Feel What Cannot Be Fixed

Standing Inside Love Without Effort

Standing Inside Love

Yesterday, when I stopped trying to feel anything at all, I felt something I can only call home. After days, months — even years — of schlepping around the stories, the fears, the anxiety, I gave up. I surrendered. I stopped, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. My thoughts drifted to my late… Continue reading Standing Inside Love Without Effort

The Uppity Woman’s Guide to Sovereignty

Sovereignty begins the moment we step out of the old story and into our own light.

I Stopped Carrying Pain That Was Never Mine There comes a time in every woman’s life when she realizes she has been carrying sorrows, expectations, judgments, and wounds that never truly belonged to her. Some were inherited—passed down through a lineage that began long before Jesus, Mary Magdalene, or Buddha. A lineage that taught women… Continue reading The Uppity Woman’s Guide to Sovereignty

Tolerance: The Opposite of Unconditional Love

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is sit with ourselves in the in-between, waiting for the next truth to rise.

The dictionary defines tolerance as “the ability to accept and endure.” So why does that word sting so much? Tolerance has always felt like a judgment wrapped in politeness — a subtle condemnation disguised as virtue. When someone says they “tolerate” me or my behavior, my nervous system reacts before my mind can catch up.… Continue reading Tolerance: The Opposite of Unconditional Love