Every time I wrote an email my computer gave me an error message. My laptop was full and I didn’t know how to empty it. Thousands of emails, thousands of files. In my field of work, details count. Is the comma in the right place? Is that picture high-resolution? What information goes on that flier?… Read More Little Known Ways to Reduce Stress (And Be More Like Jerry Gergich)
I went to IKEA alone. And by alone, I mean not actually alone. I went with no adults and with my two small children. On the ‘needing help’ scale that’s extra points! I lugged the new cabinet I picked out from the warehouse through the checkout aisles, skillfully avoiding mishaps with strangers waiting in line… Read More Why We Feel Good When We Do Good (And 7 Ways to Be Kind)
“What do you think is the hardest part of being a freshman in college?” Packed in with around 300 college students, I turned to my neighbors to answer the ice-breaker question at the on-campus group I attended. The students around me gave their answers. “Getting used to the classwork.” “Learning where things are around campus.”… Read More Are We Being Discipled into Loneliness?
Around the time my daughter was 3 years old I was cleaning up around the house. I asked if she could put away her hair tie in the drawer. She opened the drawer and put it in. One step ahead of my toddler, I instinctually closed the drawer for her. But this offended her! I… Read More Why What You Do Matters
My heart is heavy as I read news updates on my phone. The news I read is traumatizing. Things I can’t un-see and stories I can’t un-know. Some days I’ve gotten used to the headlines and other days my heart feels like it’s simply going to burst. Perhaps, you know the issues. Headlines are flooding… Read More Does What I Do Matter?
The valedictorian took the podium. She was blonde, young, and her voice was shook as she spoke. She shared about her time in high school, a teacher who believed in her, and an inspiring quote. A few minutes later the evening’s guest speaker took the stage and I couldn’t help but see a parallel. Two… Read More It’s Not Them, It’s You
Everyone wants to be special, but no one wants to be different. Everyone want to be special because special stands out and is exalted and honored and celebrated. Different is isolated and defensive and weird. Special is noticed and adored. But, standing out when you’re different, that’s another story. Special is always the ‘us’ —… Read More Everyone Wants to Be Special
My ‘trying to conceive’ story took 16 months. That’s almost 500 days. Looking back on that year and a half, we had a lot going on with our families, jobs, household, and finances. That was the last year of my life that I didn’t own the title ‘mom.’ I find it important to continue to share… Read More Before I Was Mom
I’m getting ready in the morning, trying to see myself well in the bathroom mirror without my glasses on. I’m putting concealer on to fade my deep under-eye circles. “My son has these eyes,” I say to myself. These under eye circles have always been with me. You’ll find them in my childhood pictures. I’m… Read More You Are More Than You
On October 19, 2017 our neighborhood was blocked off and we couldn’t get back home. It was the third shooting in 11 days and the police wouldn’t let anyone enter the perimeter they created. My little corner of the world, the half mile radius my family calls home, made national news with ‘serial killer’ in… Read More When Hope Sits Next to Tragedy