Hello, friend. Glad you made it here. I would like to start this blog by explaining the title. Here is where the idea came from. I am a teacher. I have been a teacher going on 22 years now. One day, some years ago, I was frustrated and aggravated about changes and requirements coming down the pike, and, well, I was just having a bad day. (I know. A bit out of the ordinary for a teacher, huh?) In true Raegen fashion, I was looking for an ear to listen and heart to commiserate with, and so I turned to my friend, Elizabeth. Elizabeth had recently switched schools, but she still knew the ins and outs and the goings on of my world, and so I reached out. She, in true Elizabeth fashion, listened, provided sage advice, justified my frustrations, and ended the conversation with, “I am frustrated too and to make matters worse, my good bra broke this morning!”. My immediate thought was “aww man. I hate when that happens”, but that was quickly followed by “Wait, you have a good bra too? I thought that was just me!”. With that one relatable and humorous statement, Elizabeth snatched me out of the work fog I had let consume me. She nudged me back to the everyday, the simplicities of life, the laughter in the mundane. Elizabeth has a humble confidence – always able to laugh at herself and making it ok and most of the time, somehow, therapeutic for you to do the same. For that, for her, I was truly grateful. That moment has stuck in my memory ever since. Oh, if everyone had an Elizabeth! 

And so, the reason for this blog. Here, I hope to create a space where my friends can be yours. Here is where I hope you can find that you are not alone, that others can relate, that bad days happen just as often as the good, that life can be  simultaneously funny, tough, joyful, disappointing, happy, terrifying, and exciting- but most importantly it can be relatable. In his book, The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis wrote, “Friendship…is born at the moment when one man says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…’” 

As I have gotten older, I have appreciated the females in my life more and more. This moment with Elizabeth caused me to take pause and realize how rich my life was with relationships. I have also realized how much I have learned from the women in my life-how their lives have impacted mine in countless ways, many leaving lasting impressions and some forever friendships. Here is where I share and celebrate them.