I spent years building, losing, surviving, starting over, and fighting for more money. I was really fighting for the freedom to be there when it mattered.

June 28, 2026

Author Robyn Lynn Tanner

Friday, I drove my son to Daytona Beach to meet up with his friend from Missouri, who was visiting the area. It’s only two and a half hours from us, so when my son asked, I said of course.

Then my brain caught on.

Can’t get much past her.

She immediately began a dissertation against this spontaneo...

I quit all the Sunday "doing" cold turkey by doing this one thing.

Friday came and went.

I didn't change the sheets on the bed.

Oops.

Maybe it's because my husband was away all week and it's been a Robyn week all week long.

Or maybe it's because I've been busy purging and shedding and reveling in being single wishing I had another week solo to continue my mission.

Either way.

The sheets are dirty.

And I'm three days behind.

But… on my Sunday drive this morning a piece of myself I have...

For the woman learning some standards need defending, some need adjusting, and some deserve a second look.

Last night I was standing in the shower looking at two towels hanging over the side of my bathtub while I was washing my hair.

My husband intruded.

Those dirty already?

As if I’d committed some sort of bathroom crime.

Yeah.

They’re dirty.

I like a fresh towel every couple days.

Two.

Maybe three.

After that I start thinking about dead skin cells.

I don’t know if that’s scientifi...

For the rebel woman who keeps knowing what to do, then talking herself out of it. Pulled from the past 10 years and a lifetime of being dragged back to myself the hard way.

Shouldville is Giving You Clues.

Do the thing you think you should do, especially when your mind keeps pulling you toward it while you’re trying to force something else. Shouldville is not always the villain. Sometimes it’s your own voice telling you how to get your mental and emotional energy back.

Less is more. Less st...

I’m picking through a bowl of Lucky Charms.

With my fingers.

They’re sticky from the marshmallows.

What?

You do it too.

I eat the giant oversized white unicorns first.

Then the pink ones.

Then the purple ones.

After that I stop caring and shove handfuls into my mouth.

Crunchy.

Sweet.

Sugary.

Like crack.

Which is a ridiculous thing to say because I’ve never had crack.

I don’t know why people say that.

My brother probably knows.

Or knew.

He’s an addict.

Former addict.

Current ad...

Decide to decide.

Exit your life outgrown.

GO.

DO.

BE.

Enter your living of the damn thing.
Demand today BE the last day you don’t decide to DECIDE.

You GET to BE them all. The dreams. The ideas. The goals. The plans. The paths.

They are YOURS to machete.
To bulldoze.
To purge.
To SHED.
To build back up again. & again. & AGAIN.

They BELONG to YOU.
You OWN THEM.
Command their attention.
Direct their steps.
Listen.
Watch.
Test.
Experiment.
See which ones ENDURE. Which ones Fade.
Which o...

The reckoning is what feels like your life is in total utter deconstruction

being bulldozed

like what is going on

break down

dry valley desert slow isolated fighting forcing struggle surviving suffering second guessing starting over again and again and again

the discouragement

all the inner demons popping up in broad daylight

the doubt the despair

the getting up and trying again and again and getting knocked back down

it's the building of that resiliency that brings you to your revival

The Pattern.

I lay in his lap

Curl up like a 5 year old needing rocking

I lay my head in the slope where his neck and shoulder meet

He watches TV unaware I'm holding on

to absolutely everything inside me.

I criss cross my legs on top of each other at the ankle or calf or somewhere in the middle

Lean into him - letting gravity drape my 120lb body over his belly

like dead weight.

I am aware- I sit heavily on his heart

My breathing is paced rapidly

My insides are swirling

Yet I'm ...

I fell in love with a boy who took me to church.

The end happened in my hand raised and began again with my face down kneeling and weeping.

I fell in love with a boy who needed saving, but didn’t know he was saving me from myself.

He took me to church and Jesus found me - pulling secrets from places I thought no one could see.

I fell in love with a boy who took me to church

and in losing him

I lost the parts of me

that were never meant to last.

I fell in love with a boy, but what saved m...

For the woman who doesn’t know how to exist without a timeline taped to your back…Without a finish line in front of you. Without a coach, a calendar, a goal weight, a sales target, or a “next big thing” you’re racing toward.

For the one who’s been surviving on adrenaline and fear and proving yourself...Even when you swore you were done doing that.

This IS for YOU.

I don’t know a life without deadlines and ultimatums.

Hurry up and get ready for your dads. Now pack your things to go back to yo...

LET ME BE VERY CLEAR ...

WE THINK WE HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEMS. BUT WHAT HAVE IS ONE SIMPLE SOLUTION NO ONE IS TAPPING INTO BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE THE GOLD BALLS TO RIP THE DUCT TAPE OFF ALL OUR DISCLAIMERS.

I DO NOT COME WITH ONE.

READ ON.

COMMUNICATION IS NOT A LUXURY.

Brave communication isn’t revolutionary.

It’s daily nourishment.

The world doesn’t need louder voices.

It needs truer ones.

Ones willing to step on the eggshells. Pummel them.

Barefoot.

Everybody’s walking on eggshells...

It’s not the thing.  

It’s your energy.  

It’s THE energy you bring to it.  

It’s YOUR energy around the thing that you bring to the thing that matters.  

It doesn’t matter what the thing is.  

It IS your energy you bring to IT that matters.  

…. 

The anxiety before. The bitterness during it. The pissyness after it. The anger because of it. The control during it. Even the anticipation. The excitement. The unknown. The assumption. The uneasiness. The lack. The eager. Good. Bad. Ugly. Knowi...

I bought sunflower seeds for 74 cents two months ago

They came with easy no-kill-anyone-can-do-this directions

firmly telling me I had a limited amount of time to plant the seeds

how deep the hole in the soil needed to be 

how often to water 

and when I should expect them to bloom 

75-90 days

was all it would take

except they sat on my kitchen counter for 2 months

which set me back 60 days

adding unnecessary delay to the beauty I initially invested in 

when I finally planted them o...

I think there are soul mates that find each other
disrupt each other
break each other
and fall apart with each other.

I think there are soul mates that love each other in wild dreams and rough waters but drown each other in the smooth parts of a regular normal boring monotonous day.

I think there are soul mates that spend eternity searching for each other in someone else in an eager earnest attempt to relive the moments of when they swore they would never ever walk away from the one mate that cou...

The Edge.

I can see her standing there on the edge of the cliff
Her toes touching the hard rock
Curled down
Clinched tight.

I imagine her feeling their jagged points and uneven curves digging deep into her flesh.

I see her trembling
Stalling
Panting
Pacing in her head and heart
Her hands wringing.

I see her wanting
I see her wondering
Yet, she remains waiting.

I see her right there
Seconds away from jumping
From going all in
Letting go
Living free.

I see her ahead in my mind
falling…

though she stands ...

Two weeks ago, I had major surgery.

This one is a long recovery & I have to remind myself to go slow because all my healing is on the inside

These damn inside jobs get me 

Do they get you? 

So, here's the story:

Before surgery - you must strip yourself of all medicines, supplements, caffeine, jewelry, lotions, perfumes...

it's kinda crazy 

like they take it all from you 

so, I obey

BUT at first, your mind goes 

how in the hell can I go without my supplements,

with...

Two Things that MIGHT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE to Someone Today.

WHAT IF we thought about the word COST differently?

Often, we think of this small but mighty word in terms of Dollars. Time. Energy. Even Attention. We definitely think…what I will have to pay? What is my price?

First Thought.

WHAT IF you are the answer to a Cost someone else has?

WHAT IF someone else has the answer to your Cost?
 
Would that not be enough to listen to the voice that says THE COST is worth it then?
 
Second Thought....

I had my first seizure last Tuesday.

I know…What the what?! Who includes that in their list of “firsts?”

And holy what wow…Did it wipe me out!

Literally it short circuited me. I don’t remember it or have any clear recollection except for the awakening from it.

I was off dreaming in Never-Never Land and having a full-blown mind movie moment.

I didn’t even know I was out.

I’m fine now. So, let’s get past that.

I’m only writing about it to apply it to life…

Imagine that

It’s what I do

how...

I was left for dead.

So yeah…

I’m making sure they see me living.

I say out loud what others think in their heads

I step up when others step back

I step in when fear says don’t

I speak up for me

I speak up for you

Courage isn’t something you have or have not

It’s a weapon you use to arm yourself with relentless resilience, bold authenticity and confident confidence.

Courage is an act

A service. A skill set. A behavior. A habit. A pattern. A ritual. A rhythm. A practice. A love you che...

You are Not the Exception to the Rule.

I know you think you are, but you’re not so stop the one-way dirt road thinking that is causing you more harm than good.

You know that voice inside you belittling your best potential’s unleashing and unveiling…softly screaming at you to stay inside your head???

You can do it all on your own

or it will never happen (for you) at all…

You will just work harder

or you will just quit

because it hasn’t happened yet…

One more won’t hurt or one day seems so far awa...

Why do we wait until it’s too late?

Until our back is up against the wall

Until the doctor says so

Until the bill is past due

Until the credit card is maxed out

Until we are bleeding on the inside dried up and empty and all out of energy

Why do wait until the conversation has to be hard

Until the distance and time passed is just too much so we cower in isolation and brush it all under a worn out well used up rug

Why do we wait until it’s absolutely no other way necessary

Until it’s a li...

For the person waiting on...

The right time

More money

A proposal

Kids to go back to school

Kids to go to college

A better job

A medical test

For someone to come back home

For someone to apologize

For someone to approve

For someone else to make the first move...

YOU are really just waiting on YOU.

A few years ago, I told this to a coach of mine- that I was waiting on something to happen before I...

That I needed THE WAIT to be over and HAVE what I was waiting for so I could be more...

I remember when I couldn't say his name.
Uttering the word just seemed odd
made it weird
and unreal
Like he was just some made up monster talked about by evangelical preachers screaming about fire and brimstone and snakes
Then I heard the word Enemy 

so many times,
I thought, 

Well...
Ain’t that BS.
The word Enemy just didn't seem strong enough 

for the war waging in my head
So
Devil
it was.
Seems like a battle worthy name after all
He is hard
And stubborn
And loud and incessant
Like A big ole bully twice fa...