Seasons and a great big table.

When I moved into my first real stand-alone single-family on-it’s-own-lot house several years ago, I had so many decisions to make.  So many.  Thankfully, I knew exactly what I wanted in the kitchen – a great big table that could fit many, many people.  My youngest brother volunteered to build me an 8’ by 4’ […]

Fear. And a really great purse.

One of the things that the people in my life – and probably the 12 of you reading this – used to tease me about is my purse.   My particular brand of OCD + my Enneagram 6 phobic personality =  an INORDINATE amount of time spent thinking about my purse.  Condition #1 – It […]

My version of the story.

One of the first things I bought with my very own big-kid-job money was a 1992 green manual transmission Jeep Cherokee Sport. It was way out of my price range and for sure not a smart purchase for a first year teacher, but it helped me feel more like ME, and gosh, I loved that […]

Old Lady Candy.

I like ‘old lady’ candy.  I’ve liked it since I was a young lady.  One of my college besties introduced me to Bridge Mix wayyyyyy back when we were freshman.  We would walk from our dorm through the bookstore and stop at the candy counter and purchase ¼ lb. of Bridge Mix to share on […]

Should you?

I know. I’m sick of hearing the phrase “Quit ‘should-ing’ on yourself”, too.   But hear me out.  Just this week, I counted at least ten times my actual clients said these actual words in their actual work with me. Nancy Colier says “We have been taught, mistakenly, that if we don’t ‘should’ ourselves into action, […]

Mr. Nobody

In the house in which most of my siblings and I grew up, there was a long straight hall in between my parent’s room and my dad’s study.  The hallway had dark brown short shag carpet, two electrical outlets, one picture of Jesus, 6 doors, and an attic access on the ceiling.  Does it sound […]

Nourish and Strengthen.

‘Rote’ is defined as a routine, mechanical way of doing something.  I would wager that a lot of folks who pray regularly have some rote phrases that show up in their prayers, passed down from family to family.   In my family of origin, this was especially true in prayers over the food.   A […]

Unmoored – and embracing it.

Recently I have become fascinated with the term “unmoored.”  If you’ve been around me lately, you’ve probably heard me say it more than once.   The fascination is because that word can mean two completely different things – depending on your thoughts.  Unmoored can mean freed, liberated, unshackled, released, and unlocked. Yea! And unmoored can […]

Envy and the deep blue sea.

We’ve all heard the statement attributed to Teddy Roosevelt that says “Comparison is the thief of joy.” And I agree.   Kind of.  There are a ton of reasons why comparing ourselves to others is unfair to us – especially because we tend to compare the worst in ourselves and our lives to what we […]

Jesus – and that rug at Target.

Our grandson Crew is almost 5 years old.  He is tender, playful, inquisitive, and smart.  Really smart.   One morning a few months ago, Darren and I were with Crew’s family at their house and Crew and his twin sister were fighting over a toy.   Their mom asked them to put the toy in […]