A green bow that represents the main point of your story so your ego does not tell the story for you.

Who’s Telling Your Story?

WHO’S REALLY TELLING YOUR STORY? How Ed Mylett Made Me Question My Own Advice Finding Inspiration from Ed Mylett I’ve always believed that successful people have two key qualities in common. First, they are life-long learners who seek out people and concepts that help them continuously improve. Second, they nurture self-evaluation skills that help them …

Read more

This is a picture of two paths in a forest.

It Felt Like Home

IT FELT LIKE HOME A Big Decision I’m on the precipice of making a big decision. I can stay on my current path or I can follow a road I’ve not yet traveled. If I take the new road, my community will probably change. My work will still be in the life story and personal …

Read more

I’m Gonna Cream Your Onions

I’M GONNA CREAM YOUR ONIONS A Mother to the Power of Three We called her Mom-Mom-Mom, or Mom³. Mabel (don’t you just love that name?) was my husband’s grandmother, and his generation called her Mom-Mom. Naturally, she became Mom-Mom-Mom or Mom³ to our children. Mom³ passed away this week, and our whole family is grieving …

Read more

Photo of a set of sunglasses with a kaleidoscope in each lens

The Kaleidoscope of Memories in “This Is Us”

THE KALEIDOSCOPE OF MEMORIES IN “THIS IS US” Different Childhoods Kate remembered the silly, shiny sequin fight, and Randall remembered the smashed broken plate all over the kitchen. If you watch the hit TV show This is Us, you know what I’m talking about. Though Kate and Randall are same-age siblings, each remembered their mutual …

Read more

What I Learned from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel My husband and I have been binge watching the Amazon Prime television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Mrs. Maisel, Midge, is an upper-middle class Jewish housewife living in a New York City apartment during the late 1950s with her husband and two kids. …

Read more

Sunday supper and other to-do list items

SUNDAY SUPPER AND OTHER TO-DO LIST ITEMS Sunday Supper Did you know that January is Sunday Supper month? I didn’t realize that until this week. With kids and adults going in different directions, it’s easy to get out of the habit of having meals together. We instinctively know, however, that family dinners are magical—they give us unique opportunities …

Read more

What’s a Memoir?

WHAT’S A MEMOIR? What Do You Do Again? Curious, compassionate, grateful people ask me every week, “What’s a memoir?” For twenty-five years, I worked as a data architect for multiple large corporations. And my family always asked, “What do you do again?” When I left Information Technology (IT) to pursue my dream to help parents …

Read more

Talking Myself into a Masterpiece

TALKING MYSELF INTO A MASTERPIECE Talking to Myself (NOTE: Being in my head as I create a masterpiece—or any time for that matter—is not for the faint of heart. Read with caution! 🙂 ) Michelle, you bought that big, empty canvas twelve years ago right after you changed the floor plan. You dreamed of painting …

Read more

And It Blew The House Down

AND IT BLEW THE HOUSE DOWN . . . A Long Eerie Night The hum of our neighbor’s generator filled the pitch-black silence between my pleas, “Dear God, don’t let the old pines fall on our house tonight.” Jet engines overhead reminded me of the angst we felt just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Logan …

Read more