I’ve spent the past two weeks at my parents' home caring for my father after he had a fall. Though it’s not the home I grew up in, some of the rules and expectations my dad had when I was growing up followed him to this home – causing me to revisit some of my teenage trials and tribulations. My dad and I butted heads a lot when I was a mouthy teen. I always attributed our conflicts to us being a lot alike and after learning about the Enneagram, it is confirmed. Dad and I are very similar. I Keep Reading...
A Good Summer Read
Recently a friend sent me a book she picked up at an airport. She told me it made her laugh out loud on the plane – embarrassing her husband. “Enjoy it. It’s a good summer read,” she said. What exactly is a “summer read?” A little googling informed me that “summer reads” are light so you can take them on vacation and not get caught up in the story in case you need to throw your book down and jump in the ocean waves or lake. What if I want to read a “light” book in the dead of winter while Keep Reading...
Stairway to Nowhere
Way back when we used to travel with ease, before life came to a screeching halt because of a virus, I joined my husband on a business trip to Milwaukee. As a non-beer drinker, I won’t lie and say I wasn’t a bit concerned when I heard we were staying at a hotel with the words Brewhouse in the title. I envisioned a stale beer smelling hotel. But I was wrong. I guess paint can cover a lot. The boutique hotel turned out to be a pretty cool renovated brewery - the original Pabst Blue Ribbon Keep Reading...
My View of America – From a Plane
I’ve had the opportunity to travel to 40 of the US’s 50 states. More if you count Puerto Rico. I have traveled across the country via plane, motorhome and car. I’ve driven from Texas to Idaho, Arizona to Texas (don’t recommend that one), Texas to Florida and back (with a carload of kids), Connecticut to Texas, Idaho to Oregon and Washington, Colorado to Arizona and probably made ruts in the road between Texas and my families’ homes in Colorado. I’ve visited Canada, Mexico, Italy, Spain, China Keep Reading...
My Struggle with Change – It’s Real
I’m not very good at change. Change is hard for me. Very hard. Twenty years ago when my mobile phone slid off the console in my car and into my cup of coffee, I went to the store to get another one. Wait, did I type “mobile phone?” Yes, I did because twenty years ago that is what they were called. They were phones to use when we were mobile. No one understood what a cell was back then. Anyway, when the young guy helping me opened my phone and coffee spilled out onto the counter, he told me Keep Reading...
What Does This Look Like? 2.0
Do you know what this is? If you said, “It’s an onion-potato keeper thing my parents/grandparents have under their sink or in their pantry,” you would be right – and wrong. This is what friendship looks like. After high school graduation, I planned to attend a university about 2000 miles away from my home in Idaho. Many of my friends chose to stay nearby for college and most lived at home so my move was out of the ordinary. I was planning to live in an apartment far from home with a Keep Reading...
What Does This Look Like?
Does this look like a bowl? It is a bowl but it’s not just a bowl. It’s a reminder of young love. When my husband and I were engaged, he was living about two hours away from me. He was just starting out in his career and I was finishing up my last semester of college. For Valentine’s Day that year, I wanted to make him a nice dinner and one of his favorite desserts – a cheesecake. I drove to his apartment and let myself in while he and his roommate were working. The neckties and dress socks Keep Reading...
The Tale of Two Brothers
For the past several months in addition to thinking about privilege – which I wrote about here - I have also been contemplating leadership. Two brothers gave me a clear picture of leadership. Brother #1 played football in high school. Every day he and his buddies suited up and ran unto the practice field. They sweated and froze – often at the same time since it was in a Northern state. The coach was the type who would try to motivate the team by yelling at them that they were stupid, slow, Keep Reading...
The Tale of Four Men
For the past several months I have been thinking about privilege and what that means and what that looks like. Four men helped shape my thoughts and I want to share them with you. This post is longer than usual so grab yourself a cup of java - or stiff drink. Man #1 – He grew up in West Texas and lists his birthplace as "in Mitchell County in a farmhouse by a creek.” He and his brother spent their days as elementary age boys picking cotton in their bare feet. At night, they would lay on the Keep Reading...
An Inchworm and Kindness
Be kind. Everyone keeps saying, “be kind” but I am not seeing much kindness being spread around these days. Several things have happened in my little corner of the world the past few weeks making me grow grumpy and struggling to find the positive – and for this Pollyanna-ish person, that is a rarity. Years ago when I was in college, I ordered a salad from Wendy’s. You read that right; I ordered a salad at Wendy’s instead of a single with cheese, no tomatoes with fries and a diet coke. At Keep Reading...
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