James and I have discovered the sex of our baby. Ya’ll ready for this? As I prepared myself for this ultimate reveal—this all-defining moment—I realized the enormous importance my society places on gender. I have a pregnant cousin who’s choosing to not to peek at her baby’s sex. She told me that the question, “Do you know what you’re having?” irks her. She wants to answer,…
Sleep, little child, and dream for me Dream me a white-plumed apple tree All a-bloom in the early spring Dream me a song to sing -“Apple Tree,” Songs from Dreamland From lullabies to We-Sing videos, I spent hours and hours of my childhood singing. I never forgot what I sang. There was collection of lullabies called Songs from Dreamland that my parents played on a cassette…
It was one of those synchronistic moments—she and I had chosen a long list of exactly the same presentations to attend as part of our freshman orientation, but then it surpassed a funny coincidence. We couldn’t stop talking. She asked me about my family, and though I answered with the usual bits of info (number of my siblings and their ages), she immediately told me about…
On the back of my laptop is an orange oblong sticker that reads, Beauty will save the world. It’s no coincidence that my favorite fairy tale of all time is Beauty and the Beast. A young girl enters a dark stone castle in order to save her father, and through the power of her friendship, shreds the spell that enshrouded the selfish heart of a prince…
Presents, sugary treats, and cramming in all of the holiday events always makes this month spread wings and fly. Yet, December is the closing month of the year, the time I can look back and see all that has happened. My powerful lesson at the year’s opening taught me just how hard I push myself, and how dangerous a life “lived in red” truly is. This…
Today I'm pleased to introduce you to Stephanie Fuller, a lively, fun-loving woman I met on the Twitterverse. Stephanie demonstrated to me how much she enjoys life, right down to the tiny details. She's teaching me, by example, to look at my everyday routine with a certain degree of exuberance and delight, which is a valuable gift. Stephanie also knows how essential it is to have…
What makes a story have a human heart? Can you think of the moments when you've read a story and could relate exactly to the person telling the story? Did you feel less alone and more understood because of it? I am incredibly honored to introduce you today to Brian McDonald, a man who continues to teach the world (and me!) priceless keys and truths to…
Welcome to the Friday Five where every week I share 4 life lessons/observations from my week and 1 fun photo. Do you ever have those weeks when all seven days seem to be about getting just ONE thing done? I’ve heard it’s better to strive for one objective than many, and this week has been one of those. My goal? Slash off the thousands of unnecessary…
If I were an item of clothing with my own ‘care instructions’ tag, it would probably read something like this: “regularly moisturize with kind words, feed daily doses of chocolate, exert gentle, routine exercise, and maintain healthy diet for happy demeanor.” Yes, I’m aware of what I need. But do I do it? The truth is, though I’d never encourage someone to skip their own self-care…
This has been a week of movement for me. I moved forward in my work with bolder, braver decisions and put some new projects in motion. My head is whirling and I'm traveling this weekend, but it's been a good week, altogether. 1. Small equals close. I love big gatherings, but there's a hidden rule when you have more than six or seven people in a…