Hope is one of those abstract ideas that we underestimate. We use it so often for small things. I hope it doesn’t snow again tonight. I hope I win the raffle basket! I hope I have time to grab coffee before work. I hope the kids don’t have any math homework tonight. The strength…
Today is National Compliments Day. While most people agree that they’d rather be complimented than criticized, many of us don’t know how to truly accept a compliment. If you’re like a majority of the population, you might feel a little uncomfortable or not know how to respond when you receive a compliment. Whether the…
Tradition may leave a bitter taste in some mouths. “Tradition” is sometimes uttered to explain why we have to do things a certain way, even if that way feels suffocating, unnatural, or outdated. Why do we have to hold a big wedding ceremony? Tradition. Why do I have to go into the family business?…
What does it mean to be kind? If someone I’d never met were to ask my closest friends, my family, and my barely acquaintances to describe me using five adjectives, I wonder if the word “kind” would be among them. Would it be said frequently, or only by two or three people? It’s easy…
Decisions are hard. I think it’s a combination of nature and nurture that gives us our ability (or lack thereof) to make decisions. By nature, I’m fairly laid back and not super particular about many things. While my main nurturer, my mom, is one of the least decisive people I know (love you, Mom!)….
Childhood shapes us in so many ways. We’ll never be able to pinpoint every decision; every activity; every word of encouragement or criticism, that formed us into who we are today. As a parent, I see the ways my childhood shaped who I am today–both the good and the bad–and I desperately want to…
There’s no such thing as a perfect planner. I’m not a planner, but I have friends who are. They faithfully find the perfect little calendar or personal planner before last year’s edition is out of pages. They write in pen every non-negotiable appointment; every after-school volunteer event; every work shift as far out…
Fall is usually the time where everything settles back into a more predictable rhythm. The summer hustle–prepping for vacations and lakeside camping trips–is packed away with the tents and fishing poles. Earlier bedtimes are enforced to allow kids enough rest as they head back to school. Breakfast happens at pretty much the same time…
At the beginning of any difficult stretch of time — a natural disaster, a mass shooting, a pandemic — every response is new. Each uttered word of disbelief, each shriek of terror, each face painted with layers of fear, confusion and anger; all of those reactions are valid. Shortly after, conversations arise discussing changes…
There are so many factors to consider when making a significant decision in your life. Not everything can be seen as either black or white; good or bad. Many choices we face in life have a lot of grey area in between the two extremes. Whether we can see the validity of the points of…