Good news! I love having good news to share!! After all, who doesn’t love some good news? As I mentioned a few blogs ago, I joined a writing program called First Book Finish with writing coach Rhonda Douglas. Rhonda had us map out our plan for the 12 week program, which I did. My goal … Read more
It’s the first day of 2022 as I write this, and I’ve lit a candle my dear friend Ara gave me a few years ago. I needed a reminder of my connection to others and to myself as I tackle a challenge. Thankfully I don’t technically have an eating disorder. Considering that I have the … Read more
Celebrating the end of a year is something I love to do. I’m sending this post out into the world on the very last day of 2021. When it publishes, I will be out running 5 or 6 miles with a group of friends. Good chance I will be wearing my DueNorth Everyday G3 Ice … Read more
The holiday season has arrived once again. This is not an easy time of year for many of us, me included. I wrote about ambiguous loss and family estrangement a few years ago, and most of what I wrote in that post in 2018 is still true. I don’t see or talk to anyone in … Read more
In 2017 I filed bankruptcy. The act of doing that was life changing for me. I was very ashamed of getting myself in trouble with my finances. I resolved to gain control of my relationship with money. Turns out, growing up in a household with parents who had generational trauma around finances didn’t teach me … Read more
I’ve been in Siesta Key, Florida this past week. As you know, I live in cold, gray, wintery in November Minnesota and like you I’ve been on lock-down due to the pandemic for almost two years. One of my dear athletic friends Jenny figured out a few years ago that one of the best ways … Read more
Two years ago, I did the Monster Dash 10K race with my friend Shirlene. I wrote about it here. I mentioned that I was proud that I completed the route in 80 minutes. I had good blood sugars and a solid race day strategy. My recollection of the run was that I was pretty wiped … Read more
“You can’t go back to the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ~ C. S. Lewis Winter is a long season in Minnesota and many of us here in this cold, gray, snowy state suffer once colorful, glorious October ends and the temperatures drop in November. Just the other … Read more
Every year I review my treatment plan with my psychotherapist. I have a diagnosis of PTSD that makes complete sense to me given my childhood, my health challenges and the layers of trauma I have survived in my life. This past week, my therapist and I were again reviewing my treatment plan and she asked … Read more
“Compassion involves the recognition and clear seeing of suffering. It also involves feelings of kindness for people who are suffering, so that the desire to help – to ameliorate suffering – emerges. Finally, compassion involves recognizing our shared human condition, flawed and fragile as it is. Self-compassion, by definition, involves the same qualities. Self-compassion involves … Read more