The Geese Lesson.
I live in a neighborhood right now with a crap ton (*actual number) of geese. Is it because of the river? The lake? I have no idea. But I love watching them fly. I remember a day over a decade ago when I was trying to make a decision on a big career move. I […]
A public legacy and a private gift.
Robert Redford died this last week at age 89. Here in Utah, that news landed a little closer to home. Literally. All week, the tributes I’ve heard have circled around the same idea: Legacy. And in hearing about that legacy, three things stood out to me. 1) He was a legendary actor.I loved Robert Redford […]
The Kindest Thing We Can Do.
Investor Rick Buhrman was once asked “What is the kindest thing that anyone’s ever done for you?”This was his response: “… our oldest son, Theo, spent the first six months of his life in several NICUs. He was eventually helicoptered to Indianapolis at Riley Hospital for Children. And while we were living in that NICU […]
Graduation Season – and other spaces.
For many (many!) years, Memorial Day weekend was super stressful for me. It was usually the final push before high school graduation. Graduation – at least back then – was always the first week in June. And my whole job was graduation – making sure every last kid who could walk, did. There were parents […]
A little more out loud.
For some reason, this year, Easter has been a tricky season for me. I don’t hide from all of you that I am a Christian. But I also don’t put it front and center – especially in my work life. In my background in public education, it was a no-no to mix church and […]
Yellow Brick and Red Utah Sandstone.
Photo by Jacob Barlow A few Sundays ago, I sat quietly in a red sandstone tabernacle built in 1909. The pews curve in the balcony and behind the pulpit sits a huge pipe organ. The woodwork is intricate and warm. It wasn’t my first time in that building – but it was the first time […]
Frozen Hot Chocolate and a Side of Lagniappe
One of my favorite chocolate shops in the whole world (ok, I’ve only seen part of the world, but still!) serves something called frozen hot chocolate. Now, before you make the mistake of thinking that frozen hot chocolate is exactly what it sounds like, let me assure you – it is not! This frozen hot […]
Your Natural Love Language.
For being a relatively healthy person overall, I have actually had a lot of surgeries. Some of them I categorize as “let’s dig around and fix some things up” – i.e. ovarian cysts, meniscus tear, hole in my heart, etc. – and some I categorize and “let’s just get this thing out of there” – […]
Plussing it.
Did you know that Walt Disney loved making motion pictures but didn’t love his ‘pictures’ being finished? Fascinating, right? Most of us love things being finished. In his own words: “A picture is a thing that once you wrap it up and turn it over to Technicolor, you’re through. Snow White is a dead issue […]
An old tradition and a good sport.
I didn’t grow up in a house with a ton of Christmas traditions – partly because when I was young we were travelling from Minnesota to California for Christmas. Those of you following this blog have read the post about my parents’ sweat and sacrifice for those trips! I imagine the Christmas traveling took all […]
