I admit it, I have some bad habits. For one, I pick at my lips when I’m nervous. This drives each and every one of my family members crazy - especially in the winter when I inevitably draw some blood. I also eat too late into the night. Hummus and chips while watching back to back episodes of Homeland? Yes please! These are just a couple, of course, and while I continue to evaluate and polish my rough side, I also try to develop the good. Recently, I watched my [...]
If you’re following the Olympics of 2016 you’ve no doubt come across the champion stories - from every-day beginnings to wild success. Among them is Katie Ledecky’s: a 19 year old from Maryland who it seems has a thing for shattering limits. I watched her last night and sat slack-jawed as she outpaced her fellow competitors by at least a body length– a huge margin for an Olympian. She smashed her own world record swimming the 400 meter freestyle in 3 minutes and 56 seconds, outshining her competition and moreover, [...]
“When can I get a full data plan?” asks my son as he opens a conversation about the upcoming school year. We’ve been sitting around our kitchen table and nearing the end of a robust discussion on making personal choices, taking chances, listening to instincts. But applying life lessons to data plans just feels entirely too much for me. I can tell we are at the close of open-minded parent/child dialogue and also, discussing cell phone use or any kind of screen time these days with my children is about [...]
These long summer days have given way to afternoons spent huddled, feet tucked under bums, watching movies to pass the afternoon storms, the stifling heat, and through the luxurious stretch in summer's time. And so it is with this week's post, entrenched in the soundtracks of family movie classics, that I write in response to the life lessons taught from these epic films. My personal favorites revolve basically around anything Julie Andrews. We (the females in the household) pump the good vibes of these tunes throughout our days, singing, dancing [...]
I had a visit from one of my sisters this weekend. She rustled up her large family and joined mine in an effort to relax and enjoy some time at the lake. Together we packed chips and guac, water bottles and rosé and headed to the beach where we let our big collective family play. Between head counts and sunscreen applications we sat knee to knee gabbing about all things on the heart – like what it’s like to work as a mom with littles, goals we’ve set for the [...]
These are troubling times. I think sometimes people expect, as a coach, that I put my game face on, see the sunny side of things and move forward. But the truth is, sometimes you need to put your face in your hands and just weep. It might be the current events of our aching country. It could be a personal moment that takes you by surprise. I recently found myself seized by a song as I was driving on a sunny afternoon (You Should Be Here by Cole Swindell). All [...]
The power of your universe is strong. It’s hard to tell sometimes, as we get stuck in the chatter of our ego and we walk around in our human skin feeling every emotion. It’s an incredible gift, actually, to be human and think and feel - to have the capacity to engage so deeply with other human beings that we no longer feel our separateness. Our world is trying so hard to grasp this idea of unity and yet it is our rightful “home base” when we tap into our [...]
There’s a lot of talk about saying “No”. Especially in the world of motherhood, where we are often stretched paper thin between the social calendar, the work duties and parenting, learning to say No can be a challenge: “No, I cannot be Lead Parent for the little league team (I’m starting a business this year and will need all the extra time I have,”) “No I cannot meet for dinner this week (sitting with a glass of wine and watching HGTV is on my mental calendar instead,”) “No, I won’t [...]
You know those moments when you get an idea that just sends shivers through your body? Before your mind begins its fear-based chatter of how irrational and out of reach it really is? And maybe the truth of it stirs so deeply in your being that tears spring to your eyes and humility settles in. This is inspiration at its finest and we call it intuitive “hit” for a reason. If we allow it, it can be quite bold in getting our attention. As fate would have it, this was [...]
When we were little we dreamt big. We thought of things with strong feelings -- like "Policemen are so powerful and firefighters so brave." Like: "My mom is beautiful, mighty. And I want to be just like her." We had big stories to fulfill. Our stories were just beginning and our courage was boundless. Some of us still have big dreams. We might dream of some grand thing that encompasses our desires, our gifts. We might dream simply of living a best life, sacrificing nothing in the wake of doing [...]
