“Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now. You are not some disinterested bystander. Exert yourself.” – Epictetus My best friend joined…
In With the Old
Me, age 11 (left) Tay, age 10 1/2 (right) Taylor found one of my old photo albums and began flipping through the pages. It spanned my high school years, into college, and even the beginnings of my pregnancy with her. Like most children, she believes that my life began at the same moment that…
Life Lesson #17: Feel the Rush
Taylor had her school program the other night. She was a bundle of nerves about her solo and she practiced tirelessly to get ready. On the night of the show, she could hardly contain the smile on her face as they sang and danced their way through the music. Her joy was infectious. Afterwards, my…
Empty Space
I was talking to a friend this morning and I asked, “What would you do if you didn’t have to work for money?” He replied almost immediately with, “Everything.” Everything is a lot like nothing. It sounds like something we’d love to do but where does one begin with everything? It leaves a lot of white…
My Grandfather, Brawley Vaughan
On a cold and snowy evening in Rhinelander, WI, a ten year old boy trudged through the snow on his way home his toes numb in his boots. He had spent his day shining shoes of the businessmen in town, and he suddenly realized the quarter he had been holding, the entirety of the money…
Life Lesson #16.5: Be Nice (That Means to YOU Too)
“Running is a road to self-awareness and reliance-you can push yourself to extremes and learn the harsh reality of your physical and mental limitations or coast quietly down a solitary path watching the earth spin beneath your feet.” – Doris Brown HeritageI ran today, more the “watching the earth spin beneath your feet” kind of run….
Chainsaws on Fire
I taught myself how to juggle my freshman year of college. While I never got beyond beanbags and balls (there were bananas a few times), I remember seeing a far more impressive juggling demonstration when I was in the sixth grade. Jugglers came to my school for an assembly. They started simply with colorful scarves…
Colors Inside (and Outside) the Lines
Cate comes home with a “Friday Folder” each week from school and we carefully go through it, and she shows me her work and we talk about what they did and what they are going to learn the upcoming week. She told me about their “sight words” as they learn to read, “he” and “for.”…
Life Lesson #16: Be Nice
Stickers from JJ When Cate was recently in the hospital and word got out that she was sick and struggling, the outpouring of love and kindness was overwhelming. A perfect stranger Paul Jones, who had never met us messaged me on FB and said he and his wife Beth wanted to send us something special….
Two Cups of Coffee
I stopped at Starbucks and instead of going through the drive-thru that was four cars deep I wandered inside instead. It’s been a rough month for me on a lot of fronts and I’ve felt lost the last week or so, uncomfortable in my own skin, trapped in bad habits, and I have had no…
Leaving a Path 