If you haven’t adopted the celebration of Festivus in your home, I would consider it this holiday season. The Seinfeld-created holiday of airing your grievances with your loved ones has really moved the needle for our family in an effort to be more honest with each other, and live in a home full of joy…not resentment. There is, of course, an inherent risk that the “celebration” turns into a tragic falling out. But, that’s a…
I’m sitting beside Bode at his cavity filling this morning, watching him frantically squeezing the little squishy ball the nurse gave him for when he gets overwhelmed. I hear his little whimpers, trying to discern whether their from fear or pain. And, I feel the motherly anguish start to rush into the depths of my soul. I am so worried about him. I’m worried that he’s scared, that they’re hitting a nerve in his tooth,…
It is because of our struggles that we are able to be the stronger versions of ourselves that we are today, not despite them. We have all seen the many faces of struggle, right? Past breakups with boy/girlfriends and full blown divorces. The death of parents, siblings, children, unborn babies, friends, and pets. Mental illness covering everything from depression to eating disorders to distorted body image. We’ve lost jobs, income, been robbed…both physically and emotionally. We’ve been…
In the same way that our cell phone is a distraction for us while driving a car, people can be distractions that keep us from attaining the things that we want out of life. Whether we’re trying to get a promotion at work, get rid of the stress that we feel throughout the day, or hitting a PR on a lift or workout, it’s important that we identify distractions in our lives and how to…
Dear Ben, I am speechless and full of an endless stream of thought all at one time. 10 years ago, I promised to…for the rest of my life…make you laugh until you cry, care for you when you are broken and ill, be your anchor when life feels like it’s ripping at the seams, devote myself to raising a family with you, challenge you to be better than you even know how to be, be…
I’m no expert on relationships, but I’m old enough to have a well-seasoned collection of my own observations. Observations of my own relationships, as well as those of others. And, one of the things I’ve seen act as a real test for people is this: open-heartedness. Can the two people approach life with the other person open to change and adaptation, or are they guarding themselves in an effort to protect against potential harm or…
Like many of us, I am a helper. If I can, I love helping people figure out how to have a tough conversation with their coworker, how to handle an issue with their kid, or how to get better at double-unders. I remember how helpless I’ve felt in my own experiences with the same things they struggle with, so that leaves me with this overwhelming feeling like I owe it to the universe to sweep…
When I want to do something to let someone I know that I care about them, I have a tendency to want to give them something. When a friend has a baby, I want to bring them their favorite drink from Starbucks, some trashy magazine, and a cute newborn outfit. When someone has surgery, I try to make them some of my family’s favorite banana bread or homemade hummus. When Maya is having a bad…
It’s a matter of twisting our thoughts, and finding a better perspective on life as it happens around us, isn’t it? Like when Bode finds a huge bag, goes up to his bedroom, fills it up with as many LEGO’s as he can, brings it downstairs, and starts unloading all of them onto the living room coffee table where we all spend our time together and try to put our cups and books down. The…
I may be naive, but I feel like a lot of us are at least making an effort at keeping an open mind and coming to terms with the idea that we don’t know it all. In fact, what I’m finding more with every year that passes is that I actually know less and less compared to each previous year. I think Ray Dalio would consider this “detaching from knowing”, or giving up the idea…