Monday Morning Required Reading. I find this story heartbreaking, although others probably wouldn't use that word, and beautiful. There is something about this character that makes my heart scream out understanding and agreement, and so I found myself reading it in the coffee shop last week, fighting to keep from crying in public. So, if you are anything like me, you might want to read this when there aren't other people around. "Happiness You Have to Earn, Not Steal" by Kristy Davis:

Called in sick for work today. Then slept for fifteen hours, plus the two hours I stayed awake feeling guilty for calling in sick. Had dreams men were digging in my room. Not nightmares exactly, more like a matter of fact. Woke up feeling lonely and noticed I had bedbug bites again. This after I bought the one-hundred-dollar mattress covers.

When I first found out I had bedbugs, I was grateful. Here was an outside problem that matched my inner state. That man left me, and now my ankles itch. 

[KEEP READING]

She was one of those people who ran headlong into life, arms flung wide, mouth open, head thrown back.

Happiness is like stepping onto a frozen lake for the first time each winter. Hearing the creaks, groans, and cracks. Never trusting your footing. Always careful, unsure, timid. Holding your breath as if it will make you lighter, as if that way the lake might not notice you, might not crumble and plunge you into the icy water lurking below.