Tag: life lessons
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This I believe
A little over seven years ago, I did a Crash Davis-like Things I Believe In blog post on the original Little Merry Sunshine blog. To this day, it ranks right up there with my all-time favorite posts. Oh, you’re not familiar with Crash Davis’s monologue from Bull Durham? I won’t judge you (much), but you…
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6 things I learned from my close encounter with breast cancer
Regular readers of Little Merry Sunshine know that I recently had a too-close-for-comfort breast cancer scare. In the end, I had a benign papilloma, but throughout the process of multiple mammograms, ultrasounds, two biopsies, and a lumpectomy, there was no guarantee my story would have a happy ending. Over the last four weeks, I’ve learned…
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Respect my coping skills and I’ll respect yours
Since sharing my mammogram and tomorrow’s lumpectomy story six days ago, I’ve been inundated with both public and private messages thanking me for demystifying the process of getting a mammogram. Women have shared their own lumpectomy and mastectomy stories, how they were scared, and how they dealt with their emotions in a variety of ways.…
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Ask Little Merry Sunshine: Bridezilla demands to know why guests can’t attend her wedding
The editorial staff at Little Merry Sunshine has decided to get into the life coaching business because who better than Little Merry Sunshine to coach you to your best life? This new feature will run as often as you send in questions, so its success is up to you. If you don’t send in questions,…
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Call me Jessica
My name is Jessica. More specifically, my name is Jessica Lynn Gardner. I was given my first name in memory of my late grandfather, Jesse. We never met because he died on my mom’s 13th birthday. Lynn, my middle name, is the first name of my mom’s best friend from college. They were roommates for…
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Let’s Talk About Sex
How did you learn about sex? We all have a story and my completely unscientific discussions with friends tell me that learning about the facts of life (not those Facts of Life) is often embarrassing and riddled with euphemisms. I recently saw a story about Marjorie Holsten, described as a homeschooling expert by Tea Party…
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17 ways to help yourself when you have mental illness
In response to my recent post, 10 Things I Know About Mental Illness, I received some incredible comments. I love the discussion that was started. Thank you for reading the post, liking, commenting, and sharing it. Education is the only thing that will end the stigma and prejudice. It is beyond time to bring mental…
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Advice to new graduates: A ChicagoNow series
Just like we did with the Letters to New Moms series, ChicagoNow bloggers have once again joined forces to share our life wisdom in a new series, Advice to New Graduates. One of the things I love most about being a CN blogger is that, although each blogger develops his or her own individual brand,…
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Advice to new graduates: Create a legacy
My family has a three generation history of delivering commencement addresses. First, my Nana was the valedictorian of her Batesville High School (now South Panola High School) Class of 1933. In 1966, my mom delivered her commencement speech, What I’ve Willed I’ll Do, at Tarpon Springs High School. In 1969, her brother and my uncle…
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Advice to new graduates: Invest for retirement NOW
Welcome to the real world grads! No, no, no. Not the Real World, the REAL WORLD. The one where you become financially independent (hopefully, sooner rather than later), work at a job (ideally one that’s full-time, in your desired field, and has benefits), live on your own (your mom is begging you to do this),…
Jessica L Gardner 