My mother and my son - the before and after in my life.
Expanding the lens through which you see your people can transform your relationships, even ones that are challenging. It only requires looking for a wider perspective, one I wish I’d had sooner…
Read moreLife can be so big. So much. A lesson in counterbalance.
Have you felt it, too, life’s beautiful and brutal together?
Black. It’s what everyone wears to funerals and memorials. I get it, the dark symbolism of loss, but I also stand in defiance of it because the ones we lose deserve more than just black…
This is your life. And these are your blanks. The question is: What are you going to do about them?
Read moreMy ever-present father and me
Losing someone you love is hard, especially on big days. I’m sandwiched between two of them now, missing my dear dad. But he’s turned up yet again to remind me that the ones we love and lose are closer than we think….
Read moreWisdom comes in all kinds of packages. This one is in the wrappings of the incredible Shea Megale, a young woman who navigates life with an open heart that’s unbounded by the confines of a wheelchair. She connects with people in a way that makes every day a Love scene. Hers is a story you need to know and an example we all need to follow….
Read moreWhether you’re knocked down by loss or you know someone who is, grief is tricky business. It drags us down a dark, painful road and seems to dump us there with no way back. But that’s only the beginning of the journey. Remembering why loss cuts so deep is an important part of the healing process and one of the gifts grief gives us. It is what brings us back from loss…
Read moreStanding in the wake of Ted Lindsay’s passing is like bearing witness to an incredible species becoming extinct. You don’t have to be a hockey fan or even a sports fan to appreciate the greatness of this generation of athlete, or this generation as a whole. There’s a lot we can learn from them…
Read moreShort. Simple. Profound.
These are instructions for living a life…
The turn of the year feels like anything is possible. There are umpteen choices of what to do with this fresh assembly of 365 days. But the starting point is always the same: You. Me. We have to start here.
Read moreWhatever you celebrate, I hope it’s happy. For me, it’s Christmas. In the midst of the crazies and holiday hassles, the hard-to-please relatives, and burned cookies, I'm taking a break and heading to the Star. It’s the most wonderful place of all. C'mon, I'll meet you there...
Read moreTrue confession: I have an emotional connection… to my Christmas tree. Really. But before you call me kooky, consider this: Maybe you have that connection, too. This is a whole new way to think about it….
Read moreIt can feel like forever to get from bottom to top, just like with so many other things in life. But it’s not just about what’s left to be done.
When you’re looking at where you’re going and how freaking long it’s gonna take to get there, stand back once in a while and notice how far you’ve come.
A hug from Lee Kinard, one of the world’s best believers, with Doug Allred and Laura McGowan Murray looking on.
It was impossible to find the words, but finally they came... after I figured out why it was so damned hard to lose Lee Kinard. What do we do without the believers, the ones who somehow seem to know what we’re capable of long before we do? They give us a chance and, in doing so, they ignite in us a belief in ourselves. But what happens when they are gone, when it’s just us and the indelible mark they’ve left? I think I’ve found the answer…
Read moreSole Mio: My own sunshine. That’s what we’re after.
“O Sole Mio”: “My own sunshine”
We find our own inner light, our own sunshine, when we know our true selves, that part of us that can get buried under life and family and baggage. So how can you rediscover the forgotten you?
Just before departure. Here’s to setting off… solo at last!
I have seen before how travel changes the traveler. I have felt it within myself. But this time, as I throw off the training wheels and go solo, it’s different. It’s deeper. As I discover a little-known, incredible city that should be on everyone’s Italy hit list, I’m also discovering myself…
Read moreI’m on the plane, my third in as many days as I hopscotch on the circuitous route of a solo traveler using frequent flier miles. I’m trying to manage the big, crazy-making emotions of the first day… and not miss any more flights… as I head to Italy for a trial period of traveling alone. All the while, I tell myself things have to go better than they have so far…
Read moreThe look of fear
Damned fear… getting in the way. This was supposed to be exciting: my first solo trip abroad. The calling to go it alone came from deep within me. It was something I knew I had to do. But as I got ready to take on Italy alone, fear grabbed me in a way I had never experienced before. It was bad. Embarrassingly bad. And I wondered if I would really fly solo at all…
Read moreDad and I in the newspaper, circa 1968, the apparent era of bowl shaped haircuts.
Turn to someone you love and share your heart. Don’t wait. You can’t afford to because time is precious and brutally unpredictable. It can trick us into believing we’ll have more of it when sometimes we don’t. I remember when sharing my heart was difficult. And awkward. At first. But then everything changed….
Read moreI don’t usually do more than one post in a week right now because of the book I’m writing.. and because you don’t need to be bombarded. But I had to follow up with you on this let you know it’s gonna be okay. In fact, it might just be great…
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