Life lessons from the 10 year-old

It was her first bike ride of the season to school. We'd already stopped twice to rest. It's an uphill climb. We'd just rounded the corner where the ride levels off. Me: You can gear up here. Her: Nope, I'm good. Me: If you gear up a couple you'll go faster with less effort. Her: … Continue reading Life lessons from the 10 year-old

What you don’t need

I'm knee-deep in the process of manuscript revision. At first, it seemed impossible to remove 30,000 words from my 120,000-word story. 30,000 words. That's a small book. But I did it. And there's a tipping point. Just like cleaning your closet. The mountain looms large and you trudge hard. But at some point, you reach … Continue reading What you don’t need

The Memory of Food

Today is day ten of our Nourish twenty-one day detox. Last week found me expounding to my weekly meditation circle about supplication of emotions through substance: in this case, food. Today, perched upon my stationary bike reading The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr, a moment of clarity arrives. Seemingly disconnected dots (memoir and detox) … Continue reading The Memory of Food

Live the life you have.

When I started my year in yoga, nearly 10 years ago, I couldn't get enough. Enough yoga. Enough meditation. Self-discovery. Inquiry. Visualization. Cosmic connection. Who am I? And one practice led to another. Mantra. Mudra. Trance dance. Herbology. Iridology. Reiki. Reflexology. Other ologys. I devoured it all like Sunday brunch. Attempting to find me within … Continue reading Live the life you have.

The best kind of punishment

That was it. The last straw. You know your kids have pushed your final button when you no longer get angry but instead, laughter arises. Not the hanging out with great friends kind of laughter. Not the Melissa McCarthy/Sandra Bullock nose-taping bar scene from The Heat kind of laughter. It's like an unleashing of deep-seated … Continue reading The best kind of punishment

Childhood fears and Spider’s wisdom

My son sits next to me in the car. I am driving him to another day of summer camp: welding camp. My daughter is in the backseat. I turn up the radio. The two on-air personalities are asking listeners, What was the scariest movie from your childhood? "Friday the 13th," I say. My son laughs. … Continue reading Childhood fears and Spider’s wisdom