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September 6, 2020
Runners…you get me. New shoe day is a near sure bet for a good run. Like running on a cloud… A few days ago was a new shoe day for me. And on that really great run I started thinking about how running has taught me some lessons about living through 2020. Anticipation is often worse than reality. The moments before walking out the door are often fraught with doubt, anxiety, and maybe fear. Did I sleep enough? Eat enough?...
July 7, 2018
I’m staring down the 5lbs that have crept onto my waist and thighs this Spring. We have done a lot of traveling and celebrating…a dear friend’s destination wedding, a milestone anniversary, and our traditional family beach trip. When we got home from Italy, after eating and drinking way more than we usually do, I was convinced I’d moved the needle on the scale, but I had not. Feeling proud of myself for the feat of maintenance while traveling, I thought...
April 23, 2018
It’s college visit time. Shiny brochures, dozens of postcards, accolades in headlines…Best School, Best Value…Top 10…Number 1. One of these beautiful schools will be The Perfect One for Jack. The best education for the money in the best location. Surely it will become clear…although, after a few visits, we are more overwhelmed than we anticipated. The gorgeous campus has the highest price tag, but the highest ranked school is so big we are afraid he’d feel lost…finding the perfect one is going to...
April 2, 2018
Let’s talk about The Bag. The hand/purse/satchel/work/weekender/lunch/tote/gym bag. The wristlet/cross-body/shoulder/back-pack bag. I have leather and canvas; nylon and vinyl. I have bags with pockets and those without; bags with zippers and open top buckets. I have brown and navy; black, taupe and tan; pink and red. I have a bag for everyday and one for vacations. I have a bag for the beach and one for the mountains. I have a bag that holds the bags. What. Is. The. Deal?...
January 20, 2018
It’s a DONSA. That’s military language for Day of No Scheduled Activity. Not vacation. A DONSA. Nothing on the calendar. That’s right. It’s blank. This happens, oh, I don’t know, twice a year. No soccer practice. No work. No Boy Scouts. No dinner parties or evening meetings. Just a DONSA. I got up this morning…later than usual. I did my reading and drank my coffee, as usual… and then went for a long run. With the whole day in front of...
November 16, 2017
When the alarm went off this morning, I tapped the snooze button over and over for an hour. Finally, I made it downstairs for my morning ritual of coffee and devotions. By coincidence, or more likely God’s humor, my personal reading and the church’s automatic email, were both about joy. Soul soothing words, as recently, life has felt a little bitter, a little empty. Jarred by the sudden death of a dear friend’s husband and my welling anger of American...
April 18, 2017
Yesterday, I came home from work a little early. I just simply could not. do. it. any. longer. Total exhaustion. I wandered around the house aimlessly, in a fog. While trying to get my younger boys ready for the Cub Scouts Pack meeting, I mumbled my words…or couldn’t find words altogether…they got lost somewhere in my head and I couldn’t get them out of my mouth. “C’mon boys! Put on the…you know…the thing. That…whatever it’s called…” I faded quickly at...
August 19, 2016
Most of us are watching (at least bits and pieces of) the Olympics. We stand witness to record breakers, medal takers, and status quo shakers. Athletes amaze us with their intense focus and tenacity. And overcome with pride, we all tear up when we see our flag raised, in honor of our champions. But we have to know that even those world-class athletes don’t have gold medal performances everyday. I went for a run last night. But about 2 miles...
August 6, 2016
I have had just about enough of this week. Getting four kids ready for school, in a new school, is wearing me out. That sucking sound? Yeah, that’s the audible hemorrhage from our checkbook…new clothes, shoes, and backpacks; computers, pencils, and Kleenex tissues…yes it specified Kleenex tissues. By Monday night, I could be heard saying, “Is this week over yet?” My car was at the dealer for an oil change, the dog was incarcerated at the vet for the weekend so we could go to...
July 6, 2016
Seriously. I want to do it all. Every morning, I get up, make my coffee, read, and head into work. I sit in the morning check-out conference with my Handy-Dandy notebook, full of Post-It Note lists of all the things I want to do. We have discussed this before. I want to schedule appointments (eye doctor and PCP and dog grooming), work on my research, arrange for a family picture, apply for a grant, go to the grocery; I want...