The Arlee

Joined September 2018

31 stories

Bio

Sweet tea addict, professional people-watcher, and recovering overthinker. Writing about whatever makes me laugh, cry, or holler “bless your heart.”

Tiktok: @thearlee

Stories (31)

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My Sister Is Still Breathing, But She’s Gone
I used to watch her brush her hair In the mirror we shared when we were kids. She smelled like coconut shampoo and bubble gum.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Poets
The Living Ghosts
I have mourned the living more than the dead— cried over names that still breathe, faces that walk this world unaware of the graves they’ve left inside me.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Poets
Why I’m Done Having Kids (And No, I’m Not Sorry)
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me when I’m having another baby, I could pay for therapy to process why that question makes me break into hives. Let me say this loud enough for the people in the back: I’m not having more kids. I don’t want more kids. Please stop asking me like you know something I don’t.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Families
The House on Blackwater Lane
Fiction inspired by a true story There were six of us, all born into a house built on secrets.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Fiction
The Things I Think While Folding Laundry
I want to scream that I am drowning in unfolded towels and unmet expectations. I want to tell you that some days I fantasize about running away to a dusty motel with no Wi-Fi and no sticky fingerprints on the fridge.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Poets
The Color of Sound
I never thought I’d hear music again. They told me the silence would be permanent. The explosion at the plant left me half-conscious in the hospital for days, and when I woke up, the world had folded into a thick, suffocating quiet.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Fiction
A Love Letter to My 30-Year-Old Self
Dear you, The one standing at the edge of 30, clutching an iced coffee like a lifeline, Wearing under-eye patches that you swore you’d never need at 22,
By The Arlee6 months ago in Motivation
Raising a Fatherless Son: What I’ve Learned About Strength, Grace, and Love
When I found out I was pregnant at 17, I thought I was scared of labor or diapers or how to swaddle a baby. But the truth is, my biggest fear wasn’t any of those things — it was the idea of raising a child alone.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Families
The Weirdest Things I’ve Googled as a Mom
Before I had kids, my Google search history was full of normal things like “cute coffee shops near me” or “how to get beach waves without heat.” Now? I’m one questionable diaper away from having the FBI show up at my door because my search history reads like a horror movie written by a toddler.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Confessions
What No One Tells You About Your Late 20s
When you’re in your early 20s, you think you’ve got all the time in the world. You’re living off iced coffee and vibes, convinced you’ll figure it all out eventually. And then suddenly, you blink and you’re about to turn 30, wondering how your back hurts from “just sleeping wrong.”
By The Arlee6 months ago in Confessions
Why I Left Vocal, Why I Came Back, and Why Writing Feels Like Coming Home
I joined Vocal Media back when it felt like an empty high school gym before prom, just a few of us awkwardly swaying in the corner, wondering if anyone else would show up.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Writers
The Only Sourdough Bread Recipe That’s Never Failed Me
I’ve been on my sourdough journey for the last three years, and let me tell you, it has been a roller coaster of dough disasters, half-baked lumps, and more flour on my clothes than in the actual loaf.
By The Arlee6 months ago in Feast

The Arlee

Bio

Stories .css-1svwz57-Text{display:inline-block;color:var(--text-default-mute);}(31)

Filter by community

My Sister Is Still Breathing, But She’s Gone

The Living Ghosts

Why I’m Done Having Kids (And No, I’m Not Sorry)

The House on Blackwater Lane

The Things I Think While Folding Laundry

The Color of Sound

A Love Letter to My 30-Year-Old Self

Raising a Fatherless Son: What I’ve Learned About Strength, Grace, and Love

The Weirdest Things I’ve Googled as a Mom

What No One Tells You About Your Late 20s

Why I Left Vocal, Why I Came Back, and Why Writing Feels Like Coming Home

The Only Sourdough Bread Recipe That’s Never Failed Me

Stories (31)