News — family
Collateral Damage of Spreading Your Wings
Today, a piece of my childhood was laid to rest. There is a cost for spreading your wings and leaving the nest. In some ways, sections of your life morph into a caricature of someone you once knew but have lost contact with over the years. You don't realize that organic reminiscing is collateral damage to a life you left behind. Memories fade without reliving them until they don't feel real--like a dream or a story you read. When significant people from earlier chapters pass away, you are left to grieve the layers alone. Grieve for time that slipped away...
How to Shut Up Your Inner Critic so Your Daughter Will Know How
"I'm not good at that." It started with small, little snippets of self-doubt. I should have noticed. I should have stopped it sooner. I'm her mother, after all….unfortunately, I'm also really gifted in the art of negative self-talk. Maybe I missed it because what should have been a red flag has been given a space on my shelf, a narrative I frequently read and accept as normal. It took flares of anger, where self-hate spewed out of my sweet girl like a volcano I assumed was dormant. I was shocked. I argued back--NOTHING you are saying about yourself is...
What I Learned from Painting my Fifteen-Year-Old Son’s Nursery
How do you freeze time without stifling growth? Isn't that every parent's question? How do you cling to every unique piece of their childhood yet avoid stunting the very thing you have invested your whole heart into nurturing? For me, it was just a room….and also, it was a fork in the road, and I knew what was at stake with my choice. I had some ideas, but they finally came together one afternoon while hanging out with my insanely talented photographer friend, Neely. We shared hopes and fears about how we felt our life, family, and businesses shifting. Her...
Out With the Old, In With the New
This weekend, the plan was to rearrange our bedroom. Friday, I accidentally went to Home Depot, bought some paint, and repainted the kitchen--surprising Brad when he came home from work. Like..surprise! you married an idiot! For the next several days, our house was a complete disaster. No room--honestly not many spaces were unaffected. He married a creative, he knew what he was getting-ish. I literally didn't have a plan. I just had a whim, and went for it. As we lived around my great ideas for several days, we hashed out different ways we could shake things up and...