June is Men's Mental Health Month, a time to talk about something many men struggle with but few feel comfortable discussing openly. For much of my life, I believed that strength meant handling things on my own. As a soldier, I was trained to push through difficult situations, adapt to challenges, and keep moving forward no matter what. During my military career, I completed two overseas deployments, one to Afghanistan and another to Iraq. Those deployments meant leaving behi

I walked down to the Police Station that day… slowly, my head hung the lowest of the low. Feelings of extreme sadness, anger and shame flooded my mind. I was just building my career in Social Work. My professional reputation mattered. But everything was seemingly crumbling behind closed doors. How can this even be my life, I thought. Things like this just don't happen to me. I had been separated from my ex at that time for a substantial amount of time. I had primary care of t

In February 2024, my husband Dallas and I decided we were ready to expand our family. We had no idea that just a month later, on the 20th of March, our quick decision would become a reality. We were pregnant again! I can't begin to describe how excited we were. We told our friends and family immediately. I'm not exaggerating; we told everyone before I was even 6 weeks pregnant. That's how excited we were! Fast forward to June 2024, when we found out our sweet baby was a littl