My beautiful daughter, Cate, turned eight on the 21st. I feel like I blinked and there she was standing in front of me her wild blonde hair and crooked teeth. As a mother, this experience isn’t unique. There isn’t anyone out there that has children that hasn’t felt how I felt today watching her blow…
Life Lesson #25 Take it All IN
I cherish the moments more and more as the days pass more quickly. I take it in moment by moment, sometimes with earnest that I might miss every detail. Sometimes I have to hold back from begging… begging them, begging this life to just slow down, just a bit… Just long enough for me to gather it all in and let their days (and mine) last a moment longer.
Stepping into the Spotlight
For the first time she Cate began taking dance lessons, she had a recital, and a spotlight, all to herself.
The Language of Tears
In a scene that lasted less than two minutes, Cate experienced something deeply stirring that made her own life seem more precious. The lesson was a brutal one – administered with a sharp, sad, sting. That night, she clung more tightly to me her small hands holding my hands and her head nuzzled into my neck. She craved being close after being exposed to her own precious and fragile humanity… a humanity that can sometimes only be recognized through tears.
I’m Baaaaack!
After a long hiatus I am back in the blogosphere and have been quite busy over the last several months. Since my exit from Spartan Race, I’ve been working with a company in my hometown that was formerly OFFWIRE which was acquired by a MNC Brightstar Corp and we’ve been Brightstars every since. While I…
Love Letter to Sparta: You’ll Know at the Finish Line
On a cold, dark, wet morning in February of 2011, over a thousand miles from home, while horribly under-dressed and with a fractured foot in the mountain trails of Southern California, I raced my first Spartan Race. It became part of an experience that would ultimately change the course of my life dramatically. I didn’t…
Squeeze Twice
When my girls were learning to walk they would hold my hand for support. Their tiny hands in mine, I would tell them that if they were unsure, scared, or if they needed me, they just needed to “squeeze twice” and I’d know to pay attention. When they started a new school, a new activity, a scary doctor’s appointment, anything, I’d tell them the same, “squeeze twice,” no matter how many people are around and what is going on… because I’d know what they were feeling. It was how they could tell me that they needed me without having to say a word.
This Time. Every Time.
My girls have been helping with chores around the house and have really taken to their “jobs.” Taylor, 11, helps with the glass, vacuuming, and dusting while Cate, my six year old has been emptying the dishwasher, folding laundry, and putting it away. She stacks the spoons backwards, and can’t reach all the cupboards, so…
Music of the Soul
Music is a powerful force. A single note can take us back, instantly, to another place and time. Songs you’ll never forget, no matter how much time passes, so connected to your history that they aren’t just songs, they are tangible memories, part of your past, and the emotional reaction when you hear them is back to…
Leaving a Path 