Something sort of magical happens when you use someone’s name when you’re speaking to them. I know there’s actual research explaining the chemicals that get released into the brain when it happens, but I don’t need to know the exact science surrounding it…because I witness it in action every single day. There’s a short piece in Kat’s book about her memory of the very first time Annie used her name when addressing her. I heard…

I don’t believe in ANYthing being EVERYthing.  Some things carry more weight than others, and some things are higher on my list of priorities. But, I am very careful about being disciplined with maintaining a healthy balance of all of the parts that equal the wholeness of who I am. My mental and physical health is arguably my most important focus because I know that without it, I am limited in my success in all…

I love the quote: ‘In your 20’s, you worry about what other people think of you. In your 30’s you stop caring. In your 40’s, you realize no one spends time thinking about you anyway.’ I truly hated hearing things like this…particularly, when I was in my 20’s…and, realized that the cycle is almost unavoidable. Come to think of it, I love this quote now. Because as much as I wanted to think like a 40…

Perfectionism is something I’ve celebrated and suffered with throughout my life. It’s brought me a good deal of success athletically, as a student, and leaves my home and car spotless on a daily basis (no small feat for a home to 7 people). But, this character trait has also led me to a long eating disorder and severe body image issues, made it hard to find balance in various areas of my life, and leaves…

Maybe it’s just because I spent much of my childhood chasing my brother and his friends around or trying to force my way into the cool kids group in college, but something I really appreciate is when someone is able to be talking to more than one person while still making everyone in the group feel like they’re included in the conversation. I know it’s not intentional, but it’s a social skill that can either…

“We’ve all been there.”  It’s a saying I think to myself as often as I can in an attempt to transform a moment of frustration with someone into an opportunity to find a connection with them. We’ve all fogotten to send our kid in without their library book, or lunch…or, their entire backpack. We’ve all forgotten a friend or family member’s birthday. We’ve all accidentally thought we’d done 50 double-unders, when we actually only did…

Girlfriends, here’s the painful truth: guys think we’re crazy. No, like, actually crazy. And, when they’re finally trying to dial it in and decide on who the girl is that they want to end up committing to, the decision comes down to this: which one is the least crazy, while still having all of the “good” stuff, too (attractive, fun to hang out with, similar lifestyle, has a functioning brain, etc.). *Ben actually just goes,…

Aside from Harley Love and Bode, I spend most of my time with the same three people every day: Ben, Maya, and Katrin. While I would love to add Jonah to that list, the unfortunate truth is, especially in the summer when he is volunteering at Camp Jabberwocky on Martha’s Vineyard, it’s a period of time when we just don’t get to physically be near one another as much as we would like. Those three,…