I just did one of the hardest things to do as a mom: I pushed my baby out of the nest. Oldest Son came back to live at home, yet AGAIN, this past July. When he came home, he had a job, a car, a driver’s license, and car insurance. Gradually over the months since, he lost all of those. In addition, he lost his sense of autonomy and somehow lost track of his...

When friends behave strangely, act out of character, or do something that in any other situation, with anyone else, you might take offense, take a deep breath and give them the benefit of the doubt. Ask yourself, “If the situation were reversed, what would I want most from me right now?” Then do that. Because you care. Because you, too, make...

My friends know that I’m quite cerebral…always good for a unique perspective or a question no one’s thought to ask quite that way. I can entertain myself for hours with ideas. So it would come as no surprise to them that I like TED talks…introduced to me in 2010 by a kindred cerebral friend. On this first Sunday of the new year, I ask you to...

NaBloPoMo has declared the blogging topic for January 2011 is friends. Best friends, worst friends, friends of the family . . . how many do you have, how many do you need, and where are they when you need them? If ever there was a topic I could blog about everyday for a month solid, this is it. Throughout my life, it has been my friends who’ve sustained me....

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420 I’ve spent an awful lot of time the last few years thinking about all the various ways I’ve handed over, given away, or misplaced my personal power. Not surprisingly, the ruminations began when...

Tears get a bad rap, I think. Or maybe that’s just me rationalizing, since they seem just a breath away lately. Sad tears. Lonely tears. Scared tears. Bone-tired tears. Nostalgic tears. Frustrated tears. Overwhelmed tears. Happy tears. Grateful tears. Joyful tears. Hopeful tears. I think tears are the words we can’t say. Like emotional Ex-Lax, or...

Today’s post is more for me than for you. I’ve been searching and searching for this clip of Craig’s show and finally found it. I remember seeing this monologue the night it aired (sometime the week of Feb. 19, 2007) and it made a dent in me, for sure. Please watch it. I promise you’ll laugh at least once or twice (and if you’re a friend...

I heard my mother make comments all the time with my younger two kids like, “Oh my…this is like you all over again!” and “I’ve met this kid before somewhere…” and “I swear it’s like going backward 30 years!” All those times, I was generally amused, but didn’t really “get it”. Now, I...

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t always mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the...

I have no idea who actually took this picture, much less who spray painted the words. I’m just glad they did and it made it’s way to me.