With a Full Heart

If you are not a pet person, not a dog or cat person, you may not understand the role that these fur babies play in other people’s lives. I didn’t for a long time. As a young child, pets were limited to goldfish. Time and again, my brother and I, with the best of intentions,…

An interesting question posed this week, in a room full of professional colleagues, as we were asked to reflect upon these words, “When was the last time you cried in front of someone else?” And then we were asked to share that answer with others. It’s a question that clearly triggers a lot for people,…

Values—we all have them, we can probably name and claim the ones we hold dear. But when asked to take part in a values exercise, and determine which three of the ones presented are most likely you, it requires a deeper look inside. Which qualities best express who I am, what resonates with me and…

Did you ever look for something in your closet, or your drawers, that you knew you had but could not find? And, while you are hunting for it, find things you forgot you had or, even, forgot you bought? I, for good or for ill, do this on a regular basis. My husband would tell…

I have, for a long time, lived by, and shared, some fundamental truths. Some of them sound silly to others, like my rule for eating when standing at a party. That one is “eat the color you’re wearing,” which is shorthand for remembering that whatever you’re eating might end up on you. And, if you…

We all have dates that serve as landmarks in our lives. Some of them are, of course, personal, while others are more widely shared, based on events. Those are the moments when someone might ask “Where were you when?” That list includes everything from the Challenger disaster to 9/11 and more, all shared experiences that…

When I think about my mother, and I am thinking about her especially today as it is her birthday, the word that always comes to mind for me is centered. It was not that she didn’t have, or express, a full range of emotions but more that she always radiated a sense of inner peace.…

It is, I suppose, a coping mechanism we all share. We believe that life is stable, we expect that tomorrow will be like today and yesterday, we lull ourselves into that dangerous state of taking things for granted. We all have moments, or periods of time, when we wonder what will happen next, when we…