I've got a little something different for you today. Last fall, I had an idea to read The New Yorker cover to cover, every week for as long as I could and then write about it. I lasted twelve weeks. Today, I published my finished article about the experience on Medium. I published it there, instead of here on my own blog, because I've been wanting to post on Medium for ages, and because this piece is a longer format than I usually share here–it's a twelve minute read according to Medium's … [Read more...] about My New Yorker Project: How I Tried Reading My Way to a More Interesting Life
authenticity
10 Things I’ve Learned in the 10 Years I’ve Been a Parent
As my oldest son recently turned ten, I was feeling pretty damn good about being a parent. It's like after years of struggling, doubting, and worrying, I finally hit a bit of a stride. It's still not easy, but it's feeling less and less like being continuously pummeled by blunt objects. That's a good thing, right? I figured that I should relish this moment of confidence as it's soon to disappear into thin air as we barrel toward the tween and teen years. I've learned enough after ten years to … [Read more...] about 10 Things I’ve Learned in the 10 Years I’ve Been a Parent
Why My Stocking Will Be Empty This Year
Last night, I pulled out our family's Christmas gifts and started wrapping. As I put everything in piles, I realized that I forgot to shop for my own stocking. I like shopping for my own stocking. I like filling it with little treats that I would normally pass over like a new pair of socks or nail polish color. And because I pick everything out, I know that it will be exactly what I want. But as I organized the Target bags of various odds and ends I've been stashing away over the last few … [Read more...] about Why My Stocking Will Be Empty This Year
A Holiday Pep Talk
When did the holidays turn into a time to survive? My inbox and feeds are being bombarded with strategies for surviving this time of year. That leads me to believe that we are doing something incredibly wrong. Our guts are screaming, It's too much! but our brains are on overdrive trying to cram as much in as possible. Cram. It. In. There. Must. Be. More. Room. In our stomachs, in our spending, under our tree, in our schedules. I caught myself doing it this week. Making lists, planning … [Read more...] about A Holiday Pep Talk
The Evening Walk: A Habit That Improved Our Family Life
The countdown is on. From here until the end of the year, we'll be racing. In some moments we'll be fueled by joy, but in others we'll be fueled by fear–fear of disappointing the people that mean the most to us, fear of missing out, fear of not having or being enough. The days are shorter and filled with more. I'm anticipating feeling like a pot on the edge of over boiling. So much churning, churning. When everyone around you is speeding up, how can you possibly slow down? A few weeks … [Read more...] about The Evening Walk: A Habit That Improved Our Family Life
Why We Gather: A Thanksgiving Challenge
Every night, my family sits down to dinner. And we say grace. I used to close my eyes in solemn prayer, but recently I've been keeping my eyes open, purposefully looking at the people that make up my life and pausing, just for a moment, on each of them in a silent blessing of acknowledgement and gratefulness. We wiggle our eyebrows at each other, wink, and sometimes even smile. I go around the table, one by one. And by the time the prayer is over, I let myself be reminded of what's … [Read more...] about Why We Gather: A Thanksgiving Challenge
Even When It’s Not Your Thing, It Can Still Be A Thing #10yearsaparent
The flyer came home from school on a Thursday. All of the flyers for various events, activities, calendars, and sign-ups arrive in the Thursday folder. I understand the school's intent to streamline the amount of paper and flyers that get sent home, but the brimming Thursday folder pushes my stress meter right into the red zone. It's not the sorting and organizing. I find great pleasure in going through the piles of pastel colored paper and dividing them into Keep and Recycle. Interested and Not … [Read more...] about Even When It’s Not Your Thing, It Can Still Be A Thing #10yearsaparent
What I Learned About Rejection After a Year of Seeking It Out
Last October I joined a group of creative entrepreneurs (artists, writers, designers, bloggers, makers, coaches) who planned to spend a year seeking out as much rejection as possible, putting ourselves out there, pitching, asking for what we want, and taking our businesses and lives to the next level. Here I am a year later to share with you what I learned after spending the past year seeking out rejection. 1. Things change. And that's okay. The original goal of the project was to get 100 … [Read more...] about What I Learned About Rejection After a Year of Seeking It Out