Written with permission. Two weeks ago I bought a house. A home. A cottage where I could cartwheel from one end to the other in three “wheels” … if there was room. It was a worth-it grueling experience of months of the most bizarre errors by the first lender and insurance company made better by … More 2020’s reframing of what matters
This weekend my COVID social bubble peeps and I sat six feet apart, yet still close enough to feel cozy. We talked, dreamed a bit, laughed, ate and watched the kids experience freedom + incendiary devices. The conversation was so delicious that we forgot about eating until I saw Chuck, the pup, standing at the … More Learning to listen.
To pack or not to pack? Izzy and I are on the stoop listening to the rain. This unknown-how-long game delay on the house closing (lender lag) and then learning there is no buy-out clause on a lease I signed in December (or lose the apt.) that won’t start until July 28, 2020, has me … More On the stoop
I am working – a privileged position. Bathed, clothed and healthy. Trying to buy a tiny home. All very privileged positions. My heart is breaking. My daughter and son grew up to launch well without the added drag of race or poverty to slow their growth. Yes, we struggled financially as we became three instead … More What I do and don’t know
Years ago and in one of the hardest transitions of my life, I read a quote that gave me courage, “No one has permission to step aside.” At the time, it was attributed to JFK, but I wrestle with finding a primary source supporting that. I do have a similar JFK quote from his May … More We cannot stand aside.
This past week, I attended a full day virtual event that navigated some of what I do at work. From 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., I listened and took notes of insights and trends. Yet the most important communication offered was this question, “Is this going to be helpful?” Not metrics, analytics, or even the … More Is this going to be helpful?
If you are always looking, you’re not seeing. Or something like that. I am sitting on the stoop of the Hobbit House with my bunny slippers, wonder dog, coffee and face pointed to the morning sun. I can see the leaves – orange-speckling – across the parking lot as the sun rises. The birds are … More If you are always looking …
Yesterday, Izzy and I spring cleaned the Hobbit House. Then we aired ourselves out along a newly congested trail before returning home for a date with the neighbor kids. If you’ve ever lived in a college town apartment, you know that you’ll meet a parade of neighbors. More so during a pandemic. The guys across … More Homeschool
This morning I did not yoga. The pup and I did a quickish jaunt about the block after I washed the dishes, set them to dry and tossed a pork loin into the crock pot. In the middle of all of it I spilled something, lost something (how in this tiny apartment?) and reached out … More Why the rush?
Remember Portlandia? Portlandia is Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s cheeky comedy series centered around the people of Portland, Oregon; the people you’d expect to meet in that great northwest brew town that embraces its quirkyness. Thanks to my friend, Johanna, I first encountered Portlandia through their, Put a Bird On It sketch where “put on … More Put a light on it
