7170 Days

When it's time to move on...

Planning to do Better

Ten years ago I ordered my first Passion Planner to help organize my life; to help map out my career; to help calm a tired mother's soul; to help reign in a worried mother's thoughts. I ordered it to help discover who I was (or who I could be). Each year I'd order my new...

On the Eve of Graduation

It has come: tomorrow is the day my child graduates from high school. This 'milestone' is finished. I see the posts from other parents lamenting the kindergarten drop-off days, or the play dates of youth. There are photos of birthday parties and sleepovers. There are memories of soccer games and amusement parks, of weekends at...

Another Mother’s Day

It's Mother's Day It came without a trip to the spa. There were no fancy gifts or big bouquets of flowers. After a lovely lunch with my mothers, I went home to life in all its mom-glory. I did laundry - because I am privileged to have a closet and drawers filled with more clothes...

Surprise! I’m An Introvert

Should I say it louder....for the people in the back? Or maybe for the people sitting right in front of me saying "You are not!" Let me assure you - I AM! I've spent a significant portion of my life believing there was something about me that needed fixing. I struggled to understand why I...

Reflections At the End and the Beginning

We have arrived at the end of another year. As is the custom at this time of year, I have been reviewing the past year to consider what it has held for me. Since I am a numbers person, it seemed appropriate to make a Year by the Numbers list. So...here is what my year...

Back to School

Dear Students: I know there will be tears tonight as you say goodbye to summer fun. But this year you will learn new things; you will grow in ways you cannot imagine; you will discover new things about yourself and your friends. Do not shy away from the struggles you encounter - lean into them...

What We Measure

Photo (by me) is a random yellow flower at the side of my driveway. I don't know what kind it is and did not plant anything here. Although I'll be doing yard work later today, I think this flower will stay for now. Sleeping has become elusive to me and, like most mornings, I was...

Pause for Recognition

This week challenged me. A seemingly unending stream of work gone wrong, equipment breaking, illnesses, excessive heat, misunderstandings, promises unkept, and the other typical trials of life felt unbearable. And the one person who appears to have the innate ability to calm me and remind me to find my center is traveling and not available....

In Bondage to a Servant Life

I may have been born a 'people-pleaser.' I was raised to contemplate the feelings of others. I was raised to examine my impact in the world. I was raised by the golden rule. Somewhere in there, though, I internalized these noble efforts to supersede my own feelings and needs. Along the path to being a...