The Climbing Daddy needed a run. I wanted to take pictures of some of the fantastic thunderheads we had that day. We went to a local park with small mountains/big rocks where he ran, I photographed, and we were both happy. (Thunderheads are big, puffy clouds that are common during monsoon season here.) I got … Read more
Every winter, there are countless holiday food drives. I’ve donated to some of them. I suspect many of you have as well. But now is actually the time of year when they need more. Why? School is out. (Or it’s getting close.) Many impoverished kids get two of their daily meals at school. Others get … Read more
I’ve written and deleted three fully-written posts for today, each full of different stories and details than the others. All were true, but none seemed right. I know that the more I heal from the trauma of my childhood, the more years that go by without choosing the least disingenuous card I can find, the … Read more
Every year, memes get passed around that say something to the effect of, “For Mother’s Day, I want to sleep in and wake up to a clean house.” Lots of “ha ha ha” reactions. But you know what? Based on conversations I’ve had with women in the past couple of year, that would actually be … Read more
Treat others the way you want to be treated. We get stuck in the details. “Well, I like pedicures, but if the person I gift one to doesn’t like pedicures, then they’re not happy even though I treated them how I would like to be treated!” That’s not what it means. We want to be … Read more
I’ve been somewhat fascinated with my hands lately. I have callouses from rock climbing. I love my climbing callouses, which seems odd, but I think they’re just a reminder that I have time and ability to do something I enjoy doing on a regular basis. And maybe a splash of the badass feeling I had … Read more
So … I climbed on Tuesday until my hands wouldn’t hold onto the rocks on the wall any more. My forearms (from gripping) and lats (from pulling) hurt for two days. On the second of those days, I had a session with my trainer. Leg Day. My legs were hurtin’ the next day. And, from … Read more
While many of us have families that are less than ideal to spend time with, a couple of things have shown up lately that put some perspective on that. First, in my On This Day on Facebook, my post about Santa coming to school has shown up multiple times. (Different days for different years.) I … Read more
I was the recipient of a random act of kindness yesterday. Even though it was “useless,” it made my day. Here’s what happened. There was A Thing I saw at Costco and debated buying for a friend. Debated a bit, decided with The Climbing Daddy that yes, we should get it. Went back, and it … Read more
TED has started a new podcast series called TED Interviews, where Chris Anderson interviews people who have give TED talks about their talks, and they get more in depth. I haven’t quite listened to all of them, but all that I’ve listened to have been captivating. (As of this writing, there are only six of … Read more