I’m an extremely sentimental person, especially about people. Someone recently asked, “Do you collect people?” Why yes, yes I do. If you and I have had any remotely significant relationship at any point in my life for any length of time, you are a piece of me. For better or for worse. Regardless the state … Read more
Spring has sprung here in the Valley of the Sun, bringing flowers, leaves, bugs, weeds, snakes… The trees growing new leaves highlights an issue we have with specific plants here—they have dead branches from the winter. Some trees that grow well here aren’t frost-tolerant, and after an especially cold winter, it’s common to see trees … Read more
In the Before Times, we went to Burst of Butterflies more often than you might expect people to go to a pottery-painting place. It was a family-run business in the city I worked in, and they opened a satellite location closer to home (and easier to park) than the original place. We painted canvases. We … Read more
My standard advocacy for change is small, sustainable pieces. My eating habits changed that way. My exercise habits changed that way. My financial habits changed that way. (I do think there are situations where this isn’t the best, but it applies more broadly than cold turkey, in my opinion and experience.) Bits that are so … Read more
If you love seeing your family or whoever you spend Thanksgiving with and enjoy the holiday as-is, then this all doesn’t apply to you. Keep doing what you’re doing. But it might apply to someone you know. If you’re a person like me who has traditionally not enjoyed family-centric holidays and either dreaded them because … Read more
I recently read a short piece about moving through life and healing, changing, growing as you go, and just because you’ve changed doesn’t mean others owe it to you to be part of your life again. This stirred up a variety of thoughts and emotions, primarily: I’m deeply sad about this from one perspective and … Read more
A disclaimer to kick off today’s thoughts: More often than not, I get stuck while I’m writing because so much is not at all black and white. There aren’t any rules, really, that apply to all people in all situations. But writing becomes muddy and hard to read when it is full of exceptions and … Read more
I’m pretty much always in search of means of connecting with people, and when I heard this one, I knew I had to steal it. You can steal it, too. It’s a 20-minute visit. A 20-minute phone call. (Phone-phobic people, hold on—hear me out!) A friend can call and say they’re just calling for a … Read more
Often, my writing starts in one place and ends someplace else, not usually from any hard turns or non sequiturs. More like there’s not quite as much air in one tire as there is in the other, so we slowly drift in one direction. I decided to share with you the around-the-bend part of something … Read more
I have a document where I save my current writing: complete pieces, incomplete pieces, complete but not going to publish pieces, and a slew of ideas for pieces-to-be. When I settle in to write, if I don’t already have something in mind to write about, I will refer to the unfinished pieces or the list … Read more