So Long, and Thank You
The photos of Lauren Benning Haag's daughter Natalie tell the story: much has changed over the past three years. At the time of Lauren's first journal entry, Natalie was wearing diapers, eating from a high chair and still learning to walk. Today she is a contemplative little being who hums Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," seeks assistance when she hears a crying infant, and questions the motives of any jolly fat man in a red suit who sneaks down people's chimneys in the middle of the night. Every month, through Lauren's candid reflections, we have witnessed an emerging soul's growth — Natalie's and those of so many others.
Unfortunately, the stories that have given life to Shoe Woman Magazine have stopped coming in and so, as editor, I know it is time to let it go. With my deepest gratitude, I honor every one of you who, with honesty and courage, have opened your lives and shared your stories on the pages of Shoe Woman. You have shared your struggles, triumphs, tragedies, joys, dreams and disappointments. You have shown us the humanity and divinity that co-exist within us all.
Know that, although the magazine must end, your value and the value of the stories you shared here will never end. The lives you touched, the soul-to-soul connections you made with your words will continue to unfold in ways neither you nor I can even imagine.
My dream of connecting all people through the power and wisdom of their stories does not end of Shoe Woman Magazine. I simply must find another means of pursuing it. I pray for a world entirely defined by acceptance, non-judgment, safe self-expression and loving connection. My prayers go with each of you as you become and express all that you are meant to be.
Gratefully,
Charlotte Rogers Brown,
president and co-founder Shoe Woman's Network
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