When We Were Young
We lived at Chris’s family farm, the three of us. Sam was the 6th generation Willis to inhabit the 100-year-old farmhouse. We tore out old ceilings, built bigger closets, painted every surface that could be prepped and sanded. We sang and danced a lot then, that cerulean-eyed, 10-pound baby in my arms or strapped to […]
The Big Human Sea
Friday, June 26th — the day the Supreme Court established marriage equality for same-sex couples — was an exciting, historical day. The meme that made me smile most was the rainbow shooting out of the computer screen onto a happy cartoon face. That’s exactly what Friday felt like to me. Why was I so happy? […]
Dandelion Dreams
When I was little, I’d use them as yellow war paint, crushing stripes on my hands and cheeks and occasionally on my nose. Then I’d grab crabapples from the trees and ambush the neighborhood boys who left cigarette butts in my backyard fort. Later, we’d all become friends again over an after dinner game of […]
Are You Enough?
A while back, I stumbled upon the beautiful Jennifer Pastiloff. It seemed every other post I saw was about her, her Manifest-Station site, or one of her writing/yoga retreats. I was drawn to her positivity, her exuberance, her spirit, and that gorgeous mane of hair. She published a couple of my incredibly personal pieces on […]
Caring for Ourselves Looks a Lot Like Caring for Others
“Hello… is it me you’re looking for? Cause I wonder where you are, and I wonder what you do…” That’s one of my favorite cheesiest-of-the-cheesy love songs. Lionel was an 80s fixture for me, for sure. Now that song will be stuck in your head all day. “And I want to tell you so much… […]
Sunshine and Flowers
Last year at our local high school, a young girl committed suicide after being bullied. We were still relatively new to the community, my kids did not know her, we didn’t know the family. But, of course, we felt the tragic ripple throughout the community. Of course, I talked with my kids — yet again […]
A Questionable(?) Act of Kindness
Over the weekend, football player Chad Johnson left a Canadian server a $300 tip because “Sundays are slow.” Then he took a picture of the receipt and Tweeted it to his followers. And then the Internet weighed in. As many times as I remind myself not to read the comments section, I always do. It’s […]
Be the One
Yesterday was extra-special. It wasn’t because we picked out our beautiful (and HUGE… like, bent-over-at-the-ceiling sized) Christmas tree or gorged on Thanksgiving leftovers or lounged around in the family room watching football games and testing out the new UVerse Karaoke channel. All those things were pretty awesome (especially the karaoke), but it was what happened […]
It Can Wait
I have a dear friend who is also a high-powered business woman. She is a smart, savvy, successful entrepreneur who closes multi-million dollar deals one minute, leads a national women’s organization the next, and hosts glittering, fun-filled parties in her exquisitely decorated home that evening. She is amazing and inspiring in innumerable ways. She also […]
The Trouble with Teens
Whenever I mention that I have three teenagers and one on the precipice, I tend to get responses like, “Whoa” and “Good luck with that” and “Better you than me.” It surprises me, really, this attitude toward today’s teenagers. I’ve heard and read it over and over again: They’re lazy. They’re entitled. They’re unaccountable. They […]