Always the one people turn to for advice, support, or a listening ear? Being the "reliable friend" can be rewarding, but it can also come with a hidden emotional burden. In this blog, we explore the mental load of always being the strong one, why dependable people often struggle to ask for help, and how setting healthy boundaries can protect your well-being without hurting your relationships.

The leaves are changing colors, the days are getting shorter, and the air is getting cooler, which means falls is here (and that all the mosquitos will be going away soon, too).

Every change of season is a great time to check in with yourself and take inventory of how you’re doing. How are you? How have you been physically? How has your mental health been? How are the relationships in your life making you feel? Asking yourself these questions can help you figure out if you need to make a change, seek advice/help, or see a doctor.

One year after being diagnosed with PMDD, Brittni reflects on what she's learned about healing, self-advocacy, and mental wellness. In this personal story, she shares how understanding her diagnosis helped her move from shame and overwhelm to greater self-compassion, resilience, and hope.

Have you noticed that August feels different? Not bad, exactly. Just different. Somewhere between summer fun and fall routines, this month has a way of making us reflect, reset, and look ahead. If you've been feeling it too, you're not alone.

Our thoughts and behaviors around money are deeply rooted in our upbringing. How your family spoke, or didn’t speak, about money around you, their habits on spending, if there was financial struggle or instability that you feared.

We often treat mental health as a checklist of self-care habits, but the real foundation is self-trust. True resilience comes from believing that even when life is uncertain, difficult, or painful, you'll find a way through it.

Some relationships don’t end—they simply linger. When we stay emotionally invested in ambiguity, the cost isn’t dramatic heartbreak but the slow drain of energy, attention, and emotional availability. Sometimes, the absence of clarity is the answer.

Read Lillie’s full Community Connections interview here

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As a millennial who basically grew up alongside social media, I’ve felt a wide range of emotions while scrolling. Some pass quickly. Others linger a little longer than I’d like.

Spring shows up like a promise.
More light.
More warmth.
More reasons to get out of the house.

And somehow… more to carry.

My life has been full of ups and downs. 

I’ve witnessed divorce as both a young child and an adult. I’ve struggled with debilitating depression and PMDD. I’ve experienced profound loss. I’ve seen cancer take a close friend, and I’ve seen it transform another into one of the strongest women I know. I’ve seen death. I’ve seen addiction. I’ve held a four-hour-old newborn in my arms. I’ve known the deepest love in my marriage, and I’ve brought three breathtakingly beautiful humans into this world. 

I had a busy week. We had our niece and nephew staying with us for six days along with two guest dogs. Definitely a full house! We had a great time doing all the fun things our community has to offer, but by the end of the week I was exhausted.

I went to bed early and set my alarm for my usual time, 6am, to get back to my regular schedule; except I didn't. I couldn't. I had zero motivation to do anything. I needed to work, but my brain wouldn't turn on. I intended to clean, but my body refused to stand up. I wanted to play with my kids, but I was irritated and annoyed over the littlest things.

Every February, my social media fills up with roses and couples and heart-shaped everything. People dressed up. Fancy dinners. Big declarations.

And I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t like it. It just always makes me think about a different kind of love. The kind that doesn’t photograph well.

There’s a moment that happens to me at work more often than I’d like to admit.

Someone says something. A term. A process. A reference everyone else seems to understand immediately. And I don’t.

I feel it right away. That tight feeling in my chest. The split-second calculation. Should I ask? Should I just nod? Will this expose me?

Most of the time, I nod.

Not because I can’t say “I don’t know.”

But because I don’t want people to know that I don’t know.

Plants, in general, like all organisms, detect and respond to stimuli in their environment. We make changes and adjust based on a variety of factors such as the weather, season, time of day, what kind of food and water they are taking in, and the soil in which they are planted. When they feel dry, we give them water. When the leaves start to wilt, we move them to sunlight. Our main job as caretakers of a garden or a greenhouse, or our regular old houseplant is to understand their response, stimulate growth, and change how they grow.