• Tomorrow – A New Year

    Brad Paisley. Not only does he create incredible country music, but he also formulated a pretty rad quote for the New Year. “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” A good one. A New York Times best seller. A year’s worth of jubilation; a really cool page 134; a string of well-written pages you can’t help but dog-ear and reread over and over again. That’s my wish for your 2018 story. But I know. Volume 2017 or 2015 or 1995 sits on the shelf as proof that sometimes, mid-sentence, life can snatch the pen from your hand and scribble on the pages…

  • It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

    Whelp. It’s officially Thanksgiving week, so it’s basically Christmas. Salvation Army bells are ringing. Homes are transforming into gingerbread houses. And holiday decor hit the shelves before our kids could even say “Trick or treat!” As I ran a few errands yesterday, I felt a ping of anxiety — actually more like a POW!WHAM!BOOM! — possibly triggered by the plethora of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer nicknacks in Target’s Dollar Spot. I’m certain they were taunting me… “You’re not ready! You’re never gonna be ready! Nana Nana Boo Boo!” OMG. The abominable snow monster and Hermey-the-wannabe-dentist had me pegged! Don’t get me wrong, my heart is one hundred percent ready for…

  • What Lifts You?

    #whatliftsyou When you step into those 20-foot wings, you can’t help but contemplate the hashtag. What is it that lifts you? Inspires you? Moves you, warms you, takes hold? If we decelerate enough to ponder it, I bet the answer could guide the trajectory of our day… our week… maybe our life. If we let it. #whatliftsyou A myriad of things hoist my heart to the sky— small things, big things, and things that aren’t things. I’m lifted by a heckuva lot. For now, though, I will say GRATITUDE. Gratitude lifts me. It lifts me, and it simultaneously grounds me. I am so grateful. For people — how weird and…

  • My Classroom of 3

    Five years ago, I bid adieu to teaching. I instructed my last lesson, graded my last paper, and hugged my last student. A beautiful career of ten years under my belt — a beautiful growing baby under there too. It was time to be what I always wanted to be when I grew up. So I traded school for home and gratefully welcomed my new job title. Mommy. My classroom of 24 became a classroom of just one — with two new kiddos eventually added to the roster. My massive teacher salary (hardy har har) dwindled to a whopping $0.00. And my highly anticipated summers off… well, they were replaced…

  • Row 7 Seat B

    “The world’s greatest flyers fly American.” Umm, no — no they don’t. Not on July 5, 2017… and not in row 7 seat B. You see, we were THAT family with THAT kid. The “terrible 2’s” were in full effect… times one million trillion, and skydiving from 36,000 feet never sounded more appealing. I mean, who needs truck magnets, truck stickers, endless snacks, iPad games, or in-flight movies when it’s waaaaaaaay more fun to karate kick the TV monitor, clickclickclick the seatbelt buckle 924 times, say NO to ev–er–y–thing, open/close/open/close the tray table, refuse to remain seated, lose all vertebrae function when placed back in the seat, fall out of…

  • Zuka-Zama!

    Remember Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King? Recall their problem-free philosophy? It was simple, really. No worries for the rest of your days. HAKUNA MATATA! A catchy phrase that probably got stuck in your head. A mantra I surely need tattooed on my arm or displayed on Post-it notes around my house… as a constant reminder to chill the *bleep* out. No worries? For the REST of my days?? Man am I thirsty for a tall glass of that. (And I betcha I have a buttload of drinking buddies out there.) Well did you know? This dynamic meerkat/warthog Disney duo has an adoptive nephew, and let’s just say —…

  • Don’t Miss the Trucks

    I was driving. He was crying. As desperately as I tried, there was zip, zero, zilch I could say to ease his sorrows. He just whimpered… and whined… and worried. We were on our way to swimming lessons, after all. Scary, awful, torturous swimming lessons — instructed by the deplorable, eight-legged Ursula herself. [Or so my son’s anxiety would lead one to believe.] Truth be told, he has been a water warrior since nine-months of age. On this particular day, however, he was making a mountain out of a molehill. So much so, he missed the trucks. Trucks – the very reason he breathes – were zooming past his window.…

  • Dear God

    Dear God, Thank you for this day. I must profess… I am killin’ it today! Not once have I complained or grumbled. Nor have I been impatient or ungrateful. I have not disregarded any of my responsibilities or any of the people placed along my path. I have not fussed at my children. I have not overanalyzed, overreacted, or felt overcome by an overly overloaded To-Do list. The goings-on in the world have not threatened my joy, and I have not ingested an exorbitant amount of sugar. I have not gossiped or worried or been dishonest or generated excuses or required ten deep breaths or caused my hubby to wish…

  • An Elephant and a Donkey

    She inherited two Beanie Babies this summer. Their fur is decorated in stars and stripes. Red, white, and blue. An elephant and a donkey. We named them Trump and Clinton – seemed fitting. Just an innocent little girl and her two stuffed friends. Oblivious to their symbolism. Unaware of politics, policies, promises, and party lines. Simply loving each animal for its yarn mane or its wavy trunk. Getting lost in imagination as her patriotic pals play — get this — together. She went to bed last night with those bean-filled animals by her side… and she woke up this morning with the elephant packed in her book bag. And that…

  • Bidding Farewell to 2015

    My sentiments last New Year’s Eve came from Dr. Seuss: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” A lighthearted little quote intended for simple inspiration. A gentle nudge to begin day 1 of 365 with cheerful anticipation. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” Those nine words flow effortlessly from the tongue of someone wrapping up an awesomely normal year. It’s easy to possess a positive outlook when your days have been [for the most part] easy. So I suppose the true test – the ultimate test – comes when life DOES make you cry. When you find yourself walking aimlessly through the valley of the…

  • Not Everything Changes Though Everything is Different

    This week I heard something that has stuck with me. “Not everything changes though everything is different.” When my dad went to Heaven on February 24, my world stopped. Yet the rest of the world kept going. I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, “Hello people!!! I just lost my dad!!! Stop! Please just stop!!!” It seemed only fair. But the world didn’t stop. As a matter of fact, life went on. That included MY life. Day after day, things around me were very much the same (whether I liked it or not). The same responsibilities. The same routines. The same distractions. The same sunrises and the…

  • I Have Run

    I have run and trained for five months. I have run countless miles and seemingly endless hours. I have trained by myself – with no music, with no running partner. I have been coached and given priceless advice from fellow runners. I have started days with a 4:30 AM run; I have ended days with a 9:30 PM run. I have run in the dark – unable to see the ground beneath me. I have run in the bright sunlight – my eyes squinting and watering. I have run on streets, on sidewalks, through neighborhoods, on nature trails, in the water, and through world famous theme parks. I have run…