I am ready to write again. This whole pandemic…with the distancing, hibernating with your little squad, etc…has been very, verytransformative for me. I don’t think it’s just coincidence that over the last 6 months or so I have retreated both physically, and emotionally, from the people and places that I once relied so heavily on.  I think this whole thing has helped catapult me into a mental space that I would’ve taken 10 years to arrive…

Here’s a little game I like to play with people I love when I want them to start making better decisions or having a healthier perspective on life and they continue avoiding all of my previous, more subtle tactics. I ask them how they would feel if I were the one doing what they were. One example is with my parents and their nutrition choices, their use of alcohol, or their unwillingness to pay attention…

I’m not going to lie, I sometimes catch myself trying to “hide” things.  Sometimes it’s as trivial as snacking on tortilla chips when I hear Ben go upstairs, or sneaking a spiked seltzer in the outdoor shower with me at 4pm. Other times, it’s more like acting as if everything is fine when the truth is I’m in a bad place with Ben, or my parents, or my in-laws. Regardless of the depth and breadth…

I like to think of things as “projects”. Just the idea of working on a “project” vs. fixing something or getting better at something sounds so much more motivating to me. Whether it’s a manual labor thing like power washing the deck or working on my fitness, changing my perspective on how I mentally approach it is actually a game changer for me. Identifying with something as a project makes me feel like I just need…

It’s terrifying to have a voice in social media. We don’t want to offend anyone, so we think it’s better to say nothing. But, we also know that saying nothing says more than just saying something. But, just saying something isn’t saying enough. There are so many ways our black population has been wronged for so long. And, while the state of the world is so difficult to witness right now, it seems to be…

Think Identify your purpose. THINK about it. What do YOU want to do, to be? What fills YOUR soul? It’s not about what society, or even your parents, are telling you which shoes to fill. It’s about what YOU think fills your cup. And, it’s ok for that to change. It’s ok for us to want to be more than one thing in a day. And, it’s ok for us to completely change our minds…

Do you know what’s hard? Being the positive one in a room full of people that are being negative. And, it’s in our nature to do what is easy, safe, and doesn’t threaten our connections with others. Fortunately, what I’ve found is this: our energies and perspectives are contagious. In most situations, what we put out there is given back to us. And, that goes for both positivity and negativity. If we start a conversation…

*** For the video version of this, tune into my YouTube Channel under “Sleep: Part 9” at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCctUAXFFEJAqe8zhlzpulAg *** Fine, I’ll admit it.  Once we all went into quarantine and the responsibility of educating our young children fell upon me, I fell into a cozy little rhythm of rewarding myself for a day long of playing teacher with a nice generous glass of wine. After a week or two of this, a couple of things…