Hope Boulevard by J. Hope Suis

When most people first start dating all they can talk about is how much they wish they could spend more time together. All their time together. Day and night. Just to stare into each other's eyes and finish each other's sentences. For some of you, that has now become a reality. At least the 'spend all your time together'. Unfortunately, with the stress and uncertainty of what is happening outside your door, those stares can sometimes become glares. And sentences are cut off with angry words instead of lovingly finished. In a weird trait of human nature, one which we should be able to control better, we tend to take out our anxiety and fear on those closest to us. I see the 'logic' in that. We feel safe to be ourselves, and right now 'ourselves' are a mess. But not only is that unfair to your partner, but it is also extremely damaging to the relationship, which hopefully you have every intention of continuing when life gets back on track. So to

I hesitated to write another article about the C-Virus and the trickle-down effect it is having everywhere. I am pretty much over the constant bombardment of social media posts and countless news reports mostly designed to either vent frustration or create more. I'm not even sure where I fall on the believers vs non-believers. I know it's not a scam, but there are scammers who will play into the fear. I'm not a doctor or a scientist, so I have no credibility to speak to this virus vs the flu and goodness knows if you look on the internet enough times you will find information to support whatever theory you want to promote. But this is what I do know. There is a lot of fear and anxiety. Now you can blame social media, you can blame politics, or you can blame a 24-hour news cycle that regurgitates both facts and opinions at an alarming speed. Honestly, at this point, I'm not sure it matters where it started, the fact is people are afraid. The unknown is the bi

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3rd, a series of devastating tornadoes raced through four counties in Tennessee leaving death, chaos, and shredded homes in their wake. Nashville, the Music City, was it the path of one of those tornadoes and while the winds may have been intent on tearing the city apart, it turns out the opposite of that is true. I love Nashville. I have visited there with the last time being just a few weeks back. Loving country music and being from the south probably influences my opinion, but there is a vibe throughout the city that speaks to community, potential, dreams, and pride. (Of course, let's not forget the endless musical talent and love of the party!) As I watched the news with a crushing feeling of sadness, I also started to notice glimpses of HOPE. And since HOPE is literally my middle name and the basis for my life's platform, I thought it only fitting to share what I see is Hope For Nashville. (And the rest of us if we pay a

As adults, we don’t like to admit when we are afraid. For those of us with children, we spend a fair amount of time telling them NOT to be afraid. Of what’s under the bed or in the closet, of an upcoming test, or the bully at school. Of course, this means we have to appear brave in their eyes. Never let them see you sweat, right?? I agree to a certain extent. We don’t want to impart unnecessary fear into their tender hearts and minds. However, it is still a very natural thing for us, as adults, to also experience fear and uncertainty. And right now there are a lot of things going on to make us feel afraid. But we can’t bury our heads in the sand. We have to get out there and live and thrive and not give in to the fear. I wish I had the right formula to fix the stock market, or a miracle pill to kill all the viruses. In truth, I don’t have the solutions to these or any host of other problems causing you anxiety. But I do have some very real strategies to help you