• Amazing People,  Blessings,  Confessions,  Friends,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Jim Has Mad Skillz,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz

    Coping Skills For Mostly Happy People

    August 25, 2015

    I’m lucky in that I don’t have too many bad days. I’m constantly counting my blessings and I realize all the time that my life is pretty darn good. I am a completely normal human being though, which means that I’m not happy all the time. Life is a roller coaster: ups AND downs are part of the deal. Yesterday? Was a downer. Being a mostly happy person, I tend to freak people out when I’m having a bad day. It’s not that my friends think I cannot have a bad day (or am not allowed a bad day), but when I’m walking around living a 21st century Pollyanna life,…

    Read More
  • Blessings,  Confessions,  Family Fun,  My Kids Have Mad Skillz,  Reflections on Parenting

    They Come Back.

    August 9, 2015

    Jim and I spent today driving up to Madison, Wisconsin, grabbing a moving truck, and moving our older son back home. Nothing bad happened; it’s just that the six-month internship he took on ended (as did his lease) and he hasn’t found a new place of employment yet. Most parents probably don’t think, when they send their kids off to college (or a non-college alternative), that they’ll be back. If they did, I know there would be far fewer tears and less anxiety about the process. In an ideal world, the kids leave home, get their traditional (or non-traditional) education, find great jobs, support themselves without a problem and then…

    Read More
  • Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  Family Fun

    On Holiday

    May 22, 2015

    I just returned home from out of town, again. I spent the last couple of days in Madison, Wisconsin to attend a conference for women in leadership (more on that next week). I’ve visited Madison a few times this year, since D works and lives there, and I’ve truly fallen in love with it. It’s an awesome town with beauty everywhere you look, radiating out from the center of town and the Capitol building. Last night we were lucky enough to catch this sunset on the campus of UW-Madison. No filter!! I am terribly blessed to have the ability to gallivant all over the country; traveling is one of my…

    Read More
  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  Favorite Things,  Fun in Chicago,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Pretty Pictures,  Proud Moments,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    All Over Again.

    May 5, 2015

    It’s all over, again. Every year, the experience of bringing a LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER show to the stage in Chicago seems to fly by with more speed. On Sunday, our fourth show took place at the beautiful Athenaeum Theatre and, while it was about ninety-five minutes long, it seemed more like ten. Add the three actual hours of pre-show stuff (photos, run-through, etc.) and you have…about twenty virtual minutes. Each year I find myself trying to figure out how to freeze time a little bit. Each year I also struggle to write a recap that adequately captures everything about show day, and frankly it’s impossible to do so. Expressing…

    Read More
  • Blessings,  How To

    Invest In Yourself Because Life Is Too Short.

    April 24, 2015

    I ran into an old friend at the store a couple of weeks ago. We used to see each other all the time: her older daughter went to school—kindergarten through grade twelve!—with my older son. These days, though we still live in the same neighborhood, we don’t have that common bond anymore and at most, one of us waves at the other while walking the dog. On the rare occasion when we see each other out in town, it’s fun to catch up. This time, she asked me what I was up to and I gave her just enough information about my activities to satisfy her curiosity without making her…

    Read More