My husband, Isidore, works in Information Technology. He is also a Dad. One of his jobs provides a salary, recognition, and big handshakes of appreciation. The other one, uh, not so much. But I know the real deal: while it’s important that all those computers run smoothly, it’s the 24/7, thankless, drain-your-bank-account Dad job that … More The Importance of Being Dad
Today, people in Grand Rapids will be celebrating one of the city’s greats: Dr. John “Johnny” MacKeigan, who died Sunday of advanced-stage cancer. Dr. MacKeigan, was a prominent surgeon in the city for decades, was former vice president and chief medical officer for Spectrum Health, co-authored dozens of publications, and served on countless boards. He … More A Legacy of Kindness
Hard to believe, but the month of February is almost history, so now comes the moment of truth. Time to check in and see how did we do with the One Month/Two Things challenge? And also to reflect on the past month, and see what was learned about the creative process, where the roadblocks are … More The “One Month/Two Things Challenge”: How Did We Do?
Well, Hello! It feels nice to be writing here again after a long hiatus (during which, we rearranged our life a bit—new job, new state.) But more about that in a future post, because what I really want to write about now is creativity. There is an irony in most of our “To-Do” Lists, and … More On Painting and Taxes: Making Creativity a Priority
It’s that time of year again when things get a little crazy. Strike that, a lot crazy. So I thought it was high time for the Peace Bird to fly our way. This little guy—imagined and drawn by my six-year-old—hangs above my desk, reminding me daily to “choose peace.” Choosing peace is not the most … More The Peace Bird
As tempting as getting trampled in a Black Friday stampede sounds, we opted instead to stay home and do almost nothing this Thanksgiving holiday. Of course we managed to cook and stuff ourselves on Thanksgiving day, but after that we mostly stayed in our pajamas, lazing around on the couch and watching that game where … More Time to Read
It’s been a tough time for us Mac folks. Losing Steve Jobs feels personal, it hurts. It hurts because he was a visionary who left us too soon. It hurts because the happy Mac icon has been our friend and constant companion through the years. And it hurts because of how bravely Jobs faced cancer, … More Are Your Dots Connecting?
To use great understatement, it’s been a busy month (hence the missing post). You know the September drill: back to school, meetings, new work projects, the sickies. In addition, our daughter’s school decided to be an early adopter of a hideously long day, so on top of everything else, there’s less sleep. Which is why … More Slow Your Pace
I know of no other species on Earth that is as brutally self-critical as that of Mother. Although, the related species of Father, Perfectionist, and Artist come pretty close. As a perfectionist-in-recovery, artist mom, I’ve got a triple whammy. So I had a bit of a surprise recently in meditation class (yes, I’m still going!) … More Don’t Be All Bass-Ackward, Go Easy on Yourself!
One of life’s ironies is that some of our accomplishments are handsomely rewarded, while others go completely unnoticed. Such is the case with mindfulness. There’s no medal for becoming more aware, at least I haven’t found one yet. So how does one power through the tough parts of self-change—what I like to think of as … More Inner Goals vs. Outer Goals or Where’s My Medal for Meditating?
The Harmony of Opposites 