If you ran into a friend you hadn’t spoken to in 20 years, would they see a difference? I don’t mean in your physical appearance, but rather would they recognize in you the person they once knew? I have wondered this about myself because I have always struggled to see my own growth. I still…
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Growth. Do We Have To?
Every birthday my sister and I stood in the doorway. Dad measured us, marked it on the door frame, and we beamed with pride at our incredible growth. Growth was expected, measured, celebrated. You would think we both grew to be the height of basketball players. I’m the tallest at a looming five foot, 3…
My Mother Wore Red Lipstick
My mother wore red lipstick and aprons. Red is my favorite color, and I wish I could wear the brightest, reddest lipstick like my mother. Aprons remind me of my mother and grandmother preparing meals in their kitchens or snapping green beans on the porch or hanging laundry on the line with a pocketful of…
How Do I Handle It All!?
Stress. How do you describe it? How do you explain to your kids that what they are feeling is stress? In all the chaos of our current culture, I know I am feeling stress. What I haven’t figured out is how to explain to my kids what that means. They have lost a lot of their…
Five Steps that Walked me out of Overwhelming Stress
This morning I attempted to sit for a few quiet uninterrupted moments simply to drink in some sweet peace — a common morning practice of mine — but sitting felt impossible. I literally popped out of my chair like a jack-in-the-box. I paced like the dogs in the neighbors dog run. Something within me felt…
Decisions, decisions, decisions…
How many decisions do you think you make every day? One hundred? Two thousand? Ten thousand? Believe it or not, there is research online that says the average adult makes thirty-five thousand decisions in one day! That’s everything from deciding to get up when the alarm goes off and choosing what to wear to…
Who’s stressed?
Scene: It’s 3ish am and the husband is stirring with his mid-sleep brain strain that keeps him up five out of seven nights a week in his highest stress seasons. You’re awake because of his shifting and in the half-awake state of your mind the thoughts whisper in, “Is my chest hurting from that crazy…
THE MUNDANE MATTERS
The mundane matters. I really don’t like that! I am one who loves to think about the next adventure–those moments that leave you with a feeling of joy and a smiling heart. I tend to want to get thru the “everyday” times to the “special” times. But what I am learning is that attention to…
Go forth and fail
Just saying the word “fail” or “failure” can feel defeating. It often comes with such a negative connotation and a feeling of shame or regret. “I was a failure with the new client.” “I failed to get my point across in the meeting.” “I always fail when I try new things.” Sound familiar? Experiencing failure…
