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“Vi-cation”
When my oldest son was a toddler, he was enchanted both by commercials for sugary cereals and by the rare times he had a taste of these longed for items at a friend’s house. They were strictly on the forbidden list in our house, one of those foods that those of us who used “Feed…
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Making U Turns
In the 25 plus years since my husband and I have been together, we have logged hundreds of thousands of miles in cars. With seven kids in scattered places, with friends and family across the country, we’ve driven to everything from Ultimate Frisbee tournaments to new baby visits to just getting a weekend away by…
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My Dad and Barbie
Unless you are living on a deserted island, you can’t miss the fact that the “Barbie” movie has just opened. In all honesty, I haven’t given Barbie a lot of thought in recent years. Yes, I remember my Barbies well and I have bought some for family children as permitted (not all moms allowed but…
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Advocating
It seems to me that, right now, we live in a world in which we are constantly having to advocate for ourselves and others, just to get things done. It used to be, at least in my memory, that if you entrusted someone to do or produce or create something, they just about always did…
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Breaking Eggs
So often, we go through life making choices and decisions, acting and reacting automatically. We don’t stop to think about why we do what we do or where it comes from. We are who we are and this is what is natural to us and for us. We may not see it as relevant to…
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Happy Anniversary
Every July 1, I remember that it’s my parents’ wedding anniversary and think about how very few anniversaries they had together. They married late and Mom died young and their 26 years together seems like such a small number to me. I don’t remember them ever exchanging gifts for anniversaries or, in truth, for birthdays…
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Taking A Moment
It’s a funny thing how much of life we spend on auto pilot, auto movement, going through the motions. Even when we try to slow down we often do it by immersing ourselves in something, from reading to watching television, that perpetuates that state of absorption rather than reflection. This week I was busy with…
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Perspective
I did a workshop exercise this week where we had to assign a number to each of a variety of key facets of our life. The numbering scale was 1 to 10 and the categories included relationships, career, money, health and the like. I, methodical soul that I sometimes am, thought initially that I had…
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The Gift of Echoes
I have always recognized the parts of me that clearly reflect my father, his personality and his traits. Like him, I am a perfectionist. Like him, I can perseverate over any and all things and let worry surround me like a cloud. I know that he had good qualities as well but it is the…
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Apples and Trees
How often do we see the reflections of our parents in us and our reflections in our children? Some of those reflections are clearly better qualities, some, well, not so much. I remember calling my brother, of blessed memory, on more than occasion and telling him, with a little bit of humor and a slight…
With a Full Heart
Reflections on Leadership and Life
With a Full Heart 