Katie Swift
After Bobby died he gave us a ridiculous amount of signs. Butterflies, birds- even a solar eclipse the hour of his funeral (it was epic-just like him)! It’s no surprise he still speaks to us, because we never stop listening. We look for him everyday. Today I’m sending him a sign- a song. My mom...
I was driving down Stroop the other day when I remembered a time in my life that I thought I had forgotten. I was around 19 years old and I wrestled with depression, an eating disorder and my Nanny had just died. I use to take power walks around the neightborhood to make myself feel...
My mother came over the other day right as I was lying the kids down for their naps. She waited for me on the couch and when I finally sat down beside her, she looked at me in a way she never had before. She told me she was sorry. I don’t remember if she grabbed...
My grandmother passed away. She was my father’s mother. I didn’t know her very well. The truth is, I have a whole family that I don’t know very well. On the way to the funeral my big brother and I talked about our childhood. We talked about how alone we felt, the way we were...
For me, growing up was a lot like the ocean. I was born and raised in Florida and the salty air still hangs in my memories. The waves were much bigger then. I can still remember… I am small and looking up. I am anticipating that which is greater than me. The foamy water breaks...
When I was 12 years old my father showed up at our little house on Watervliet and I can’t remember why. I must’ve said something to upset him though because he looked me straight in the eyes and said, “You know Katie, you ain’t shit. You ain’t nothing but me and your mama put together.”...
I once was afraid of the dressing room, the things I could not fit into. The lights, the mirrors, the mockery. A thousand girls made of magazines. A thousand friends with knives in their hands. A thousand sisters, a thousand demands. With shiny hair, poked out ribs and sunken in bellies. Staring, comparing they’d find me there and tell me:...
It was easy to see that cigarettes would kill me until I was nic’n for a smoke. And to have a candy bar until I was afraid of food and the sickening compulsion to make myself throw it up later. It was so easy to talk about how people are overmedicated until it was me...
I think the hardest thing about life is death. And I believe in Jesus, I believe in heaven. I believe that someday I will see my Nanny and Papa again. Cousin Joe, Uncle Jack, Marquis, and all the people. And really I can’t imagine not seeing them again. I don’t think I have enough faith...
When I was a little girl I did not have a daddy. I did not get spun or twirled and when I put on my pretty dresses I had no one to show them to. Now I am all grown up with a daughter of my own. And she has a daddy. And a lot...
My kids get hurt everyday. And they cry very loudly. They cry for their mommy and they cry for their daddy. Then they demand that we kiss it and make it all better. I am always amazed at the power of the kiss. We never grow out of pain. But many of us are taught...
Want to stalk each other and pretend we're good friends? Me too!