Kristine E. Brickey

This piece came about as a response to a prompt from The Book of Alchemy , by Suleika Jaouad, that my 3rd Saturday Book Club recently began reading. Each of the ten chapters focuses on a theme and holds an intro followed by ten pieces created by different writers that each hold a writing prompt.  "How are you really?" was the piece and prompt by Nora McInerny, from the first Chapter, On Beginning. Friday, July 18th, 2025    I am really, really, really happy at this moment, sitting on the soft dark blue cushioned chair that makes me think of my friend Lori-she gave us this entire set, four chairs and lava rock square fire pit table all. Every time I sink into one of these, I smile and think of Lori But I am happy to the max because this day has been perfection. My memoir beta draft is in the hands of three readers. It is up to them now. I pushed away the panic earlier and gave it up to Fate. If they hate it, or love it but tell me NO WAY should it be published, so be it. I...

It's been a rough couple of weeks around here if I'm being totally honest. Covid. Fallout symptoms of exhaustion and a heaviness in my lungs and chest that keep my 'to do list' out of attainment. I am not a person who enjoys idling when there are so many things I love.  Yesterday happened. Everything was 'fine', in that nothing was really wrong...but there I sat, crying on the couch because a familiar website morphed before my eyes into a new display. Not a big deal...except, it suddenly was more than I could take.  It was the final thing, sent me over the top. Off the edge. My body shook. Tears wouldn't stop. Whatever energy reserve I had fizzled away, leaving me empty and depleted. Similar reactions had been happening in less dramatic versions the last few days, but yesterday was top notch meltdown. Eventually, I recovered, got my ducks in a row, so to speak, and moved on with other things. I took care of some less physically strenuous tractor/pasture work...

Even as 2024 taught me the power of prioritizing joy, so much so in fact that I have vowed to pursue this goal even deeper in 2025, there are still days where I feel life weighing upon my heart. This morning, as I enjoyed my morning ritual of coffee, word puzzles, and snuggles with Frankie in my little couch nest, a wave of melancholy washed over me.  I know it stems from grief.  I know it will always be with me, a lesson that solidified during my time with Becky Howell of Equine-led Holistic Success (formerly Meeting Place Equine). I stood in the barn aisle, listening to my body, asking my shoulder where and why the tension originated from. (Yes, I was initially rolling my eyes behind my closed lids...until I heard my body respond.) First, the word pain. I was stunned. Astonished. I'd truly only complied with Becky's directions, never expecting results from what I thought was a too hooey-hooey ask even for me!  And then, as I listened with a slightly more open mind, my s...