A long red envelope—subtle enough for a hundred-dollar bill to feel extravagant, but extravagant enough for even a single dollar bill to feel elevated. If you’ve ever received one, you know. It’s a thing of elegance and expectation. The red envelope’s edges are crisp and, if adorned, exquisite. The flap is sealed, and until the…
I was sitting at my desk recently, fighting back anxiety, when I caught myself longing for the past, for “simpler times.” The stress of work, the surge of COVID, and launching a book were weighing on me, and I mumbled in my head, “If only I was back in college or in my early years…
My pain intensifies, and I want to quit. But the voice encourages me to keep going, pushing through my aches and fatigue. When it’s finally time to lay down the heavy weight I have been carrying, I experience a sense of relief—and a sense of accomplishment. I’ve made it through another Body Pump class! My…
Well, mamas, here we go again. Another school year with so many unknowns. Last year was a year unlike any other in known educational history. Our kids and families endured challenges we couldn’t even dream up twenty or thirty years ago when we were in school. This past year, many of us sent our kids…
For years, I clung to the notion that bad decisions led to bad stories and good decisions led to good stories. I desperately and naïvely wanted to believe this was true—that we had some control over our stories. But we know it isn’t true, don’t we? We live in a broken world, and our stories…
I’ve got this. Do you ever find yourself trying to scrape up some self-confidence and convince yourself you’ve got things under control? The other day, I was listening to the sound track from The Sound of Music. On her way to begin her new position as governess to the von Trapp children, Maria sings “I…