Kirsten Soldridge - In the Gray

In the Gray

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Kirsten Soldridge

Two Mugs: When Something Broken Still Holds Love

Life in the Gray

Two Mugs: When Something Broken Still Holds Love

A broken coffee mug sits quietly on a shelf in my room. I haven't been able to throw it away. To anyone else, it probably looks like exactly what it is: a broken mug. Something that has served its purpose and belongs in the trash. But every time

The Price of Performing: When the Life We Showcase Isn't the Life We're Actually Living

There are Facebook memories that make me smile when they appear. Pictures of my children when they were little. Ordinary afternoons I had forgotten. Vacations, birthdays, silly moments with my husband. Tiny pieces of a life I am grateful were captured. And then there are memories that make me uncomfortable.

Redefining Success: When the Seeds Became a Garden

Thankful for the Scars

Redefining Success: When the Seeds Became a Garden

For twenty years, I kept searching for the opportunity that would finally make me feel successful. Looking back now, I realize I may have been searching for something else entirely.

Life in the Gray

Ewww... Mom and Dad Are Kissing Again

“Ewww... Mom and Dad are kissing again.” It’s become somewhat of a running joke in our house. One of the kids will walk into the kitchen and catch Mike and me hugging, kissing, dancing, tickling each other, or simply being playful together. “Gross.” “Stop.” Or one of my personal

Life in the Gray

Why I Created In The Gray

The internet feels incredibly loud right now. There is always something pulling for our attention. Another notification. Another opinion. Another tragedy. Another controversy. Another person trying to be seen. We scroll from one subject to the next, sometimes without even having enough time to process what we just read before

What the Reflection Reveals

Gentle Reminders

What the Reflection Reveals

Today's Gentle Reminder: The way someone treats you is a reflection of their character, not yours. For a long time, when someone treated me poorly, I absorbed it. If someone was angry with me, I assumed I had done something wrong. If someone didn't like me,

What Does It Actually Mean to Be a Cycle Breaker?

Life in the Gray

What Does It Actually Mean to Be a Cycle Breaker?

I was having a conversation with a friend recently about generational trauma and cycle breaking when she said something that stayed with me. She talked about how many people are trying to break generational patterns without having the support they need to actually do it. And I immediately understood what

Learning to Receive

Thankful for the Scars

Learning to Receive

Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money. My mom was a single mother, and money was often tight. And while I will always be incredibly grateful for everything she sacrificed to make sure we had what we needed, looking back, I can also recognize that along

You Are Not Your Thoughts

Gentle Reminders

You Are Not Your Thoughts

Today's Gentle Reminder Speak to yourself with the same kindness, grace, and compassion you so freely give to the people you love. One of the most transformative things I have learned throughout my own healing is that we are not our thoughts. We are the observer of them.