Tomorrow (and every day, but for now—tomorrow), I invite you to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a word that has lost meaning because it’s used so much nowadays, but we are not, on the whole, even mediocre at it. Yet. If you’re enjoying a meal full of your favorite foods tomorrow (or any day), instead of … Read more
Here in Arizona, the governor recently announced that public school buildings are closed for the rest of this school year. (Schools aren’t closed; the buildings are closed.) Teachers and principals are still working. I’m sad for all of the kids and teachers and parents who had something in the fourth quarter to look forward to. … Read more
One thing I know about myself is that I am somewhat time-disorganized. I have trouble getting things done without scrambling. I have never successfully implemented a routine. My morning schedule could be considered a routine, I guess, but it’s more “how little time can I use to get done what needs to be done in … Read more
Variables confound. As a kid, I was interested in a lot of things. In the six years of junior high and high school, I did band, orchestra, jazz band, marching band, flute choir, show choir, flute lessons, art lessons, basketball, softball, school plays, school musicals, German club, student council, creative writing. Not all of them … Read more
So many people discrediting each other based on their age. “You are [young/old] so you don’t know anything” attitude. Take age out of it. Is the person informed? Experienced in this? Depending on who/what the conversation is about, are they articulate? Do they look at things from multiple vantage points? People at any age can … Read more
It’s my birthday today! Except that mostly, it doesn’t matter. Work, chores, appointments, etc. all happen regardless. Which is fine (and reasonable). The number changing doesn’t make me feel any different. I know quite a few people on both sides of that fence—some who don’t care about the number turning over and some who react … Read more
I hate planned obsolescence. I hate cheap shit. I hate the “everything disposable” mindset. I hate WalMart and the Dollar Store. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to pay tons of money for everything, necessarily, but we need to find a way back to well-made things that can be kept for a long time, … Read more
Schools in this area have an evacuation site. If, for whatever reason the whole school needed to be evacuated, where would we all go? At my first job in Arizona, the steak house was mentioned. New to the local area and vegetarian, I couldn’t think of any steak houses nearby … and also thought that … Read more
Today’s post is full of broad sweeping statements. Of course they are not true for every individual in every category. But I’m not going to make a disclaimer in every paragraph because it’s unwieldy to read. Many companies are introducing (or have already introduced) wellness incentive plans regarding various biomarkers of their employees (with questionable … Read more
The summer before I left for college, one of my aunts took me out for lunch. Part of her message to me that day was: things don’t always go according to plan. Plan accordingly. Somewhere in her early 20s, a year-ish after she was first married, her husband died. Brain tumor, maybe? I don’t remember … Read more