I have a difficult confession to make.
One I am ashamed about.
But one that I think is important.
I have been on multiple sides of the bullying issue.
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Category: Life
Sandbox Politics and “My Dance Space”
I don’t hate politics.
I do, however, hate politicking.
There are select moments I avoid social media (Facebook in particular) and major elections are at the top of that list, the aftermath of a catastrophic and/or polarizing event is a close second (after that is when I am on a “real’ vacation, which is not germane to the topic of this post at all so let’s just set that aside for now). Continue reading
Reminder Reflections: 8 Lessons Remembered From Last Year
Since July happens to be the start of my “new year,” summer has come to be a reflection point for me. As I reflect on the last year, I have to say as I get older I have gotten better at celebrating and being celebrated. I just finished a business book about cultivating teams and collaboration. One of the concepts that struck me was the idea that people need to reminded more than they need to be instructed (props to Patrick Lencioni).
I don’t feel much wiser than I was thirty or even 365 days ago (or that much older, for the record thankyouverymuch); but I do feel reminded of a few things that I may have lost sight of for a bit.
Rounding out my year: 2016 version update
I’ve never been a fan of round numbers. They feel too perfect, almost fake. And even though last year was a perfectly round number of a birthday, it came after a less-than-perfect year.
I’ve come to believe all things balance out if you give it enough time, nothing stays the same and I’ve come to a place where I don’t want it to. I look forward to change–not for the sake of stirring sh-t up–but to progress and become better, get to the next iteration.
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Mental Health Awareness, Not Just October and a New Cause Calendar
It’s hard to believe that October is already here. I find the rest of the year always goes so fast after Halloween. This past year I decided to forgo many of the usual get-togethers and celebrations I have held in the past to focus on more personal matters.
I have posted less, trying to focus on quality not quantity; what has been happening in my life has had a lasting and permanent impact on my life, so that influenced my writing and point-of-view, prompting me to adjust the look, feel of my site a few months ago and resolve to a new site mantra: today is a gift, that’s why it is called the present.
So the in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week—a cause near and dear to me—I have added a new page, an Awareness Calendar, listing all (or many) of the days, weeks and months dedicated to social advocacy and social responsibly for a variety of causes. This lives in a new section called Resources where Anniversaries, Birthstones and annual Holidays still reside and new ones may surface (stay tuned).
Mother’s Day Resolution
It’s hard to string words together.
I feel like I’m experiencing some form of creative atrophy.
Like the words can’t come to my fingertips.
Like if I simply don’t type them, perhaps it’s not real.
Ok, here’s what’s real.
Countdown to 40: Conquering a Fear-A-Day
In exactly 250 days I will turn 40 years old.
I didn’t expect the idea of 40 to feel different than, say 38 or 39 (and perhaps it won’t when it finally gets here) but right now the idea of a new decade seems substantial in a way the others didn’t. Here’s what I mean: I built my thirties around the idea of wanting more–more recreational time and friends (why couldn’t I aspire to “have it all”?), maybe more babies (upon further consideration that was nixed), more career and money, more and more…
Five Days of Gratitude c/o Facebook
I rarely engage in Facebook chain mail. You know exactly what I’m talking about: Like this or Share that; Post what color your whatever are; Tell your friends about your whosiwhatsit and tag the eighty people in your wedding party to do the same… No thanks. But recently I saw friends posting about the Gratitude Challenge.
A Gratitude Challenge? Gratitude lists? I love making gratitude lists. I love reading gratitude lists. I even do them on this blog… Holy s#%@! This is Faceplace chain-crap I could get into, even read without cynicism, sarcasm possibly even passive eye-rolling? I’m really not this sour, but I do feel like the weight of empowerment messages gets diluted when you see one every five seconds and it’s totally tainted when used or misdirected for unsavory purposes. That happens A LOT on social media.
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Kindergarden, Career and My Friday Savior
As a young wife (24 when I married my ex-husband) and then a young mom (25 when my first was born), thinking about family planning and the ripple effect on how I would eventually balance life / career was not top-of-mind. Possibly it was immaturity, possibly it was naiveté, probably it was a combination of the two. I was already in the workforce, but still sussing out what I wanted and where I wanted to go. My daughter was born in the midst of the dot-com boom, and by way of good choices and good fortune, I found myself in a great position to leave corporate America and consult from a home office giving me the opportunity to be with my new baby and still be part of the working world.
Black, White and Shades of Gray
I always thought…used to think?…was conditioned to think?… (I’ll get back to that). At some point, and for a very long time, I was a black and white kind of person and had a fear of confusion that came with areas of gray so I made every effort to avoid it. Personally, professionally, emotionally, cognitively…
The Gifting Whisperer 