Last week was a TERRIBLE week around here. Specifically I’m talking about personally, in this house. It started with the basement flooding and went downhill from there. Yes, downhill. ARGH. That said, I can’t gloss over the fact that, way outside of my house, the church shooting in Charleston happened last week. It broke my heart, not only because of the cold-blooded murder of nine people and the fact that this was, without a doubt, a racially-motivated hate crime and not only because it happened in a place of worship where people are supposed to feel (and BE) safe–our temple has police supervision outside during the High Holidays and I…
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Three Bags Full
I used to have a really hard time getting rid of stuff. I remember spending weekends in the first couple of years we were married, crying about things Jim thought we should drop off at Goodwill. The reasons behind that could fill a whole other blog post so I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say that over the years I have become much better at letting go of extra stuff and now I enjoy being surrounded mainly by the things I love. Still, I look around my house and know that I could get rid of more. Clutter is the enemy of my mind, and affects how…
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Invest In Others! Here’s Why.
About six weeks ago I wrote about my chance meeting with an old friend. We talked about how she wasn’t happy at work anymore and really preferred to get herself onto a different career path but had no idea how to get started. I offered to help her figure it out but, just as I predicted (sadly), I never heard from her. There are all kinds of reasons why people don’t reach out for help. Sometimes it simply seems easier to stay in the unhappy place than to get out. Instigating life changes is hard work. I would guess it’s almost always worth it, though. I was recently inspired by…
- Amazing People, Best Thing Ever, Favorite Things, Food, Friends, My Friends Have Mad Skillz, My Kid Has Mad Skillz, Proud Moments, Something That Could Change Your Life, Travels
My LTYM Travel Season, By The Numbers
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and it also happened to be the last day of the 2015 LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER season. Each year I have driven to see some other shows, not only because I like hearing the stories live but also because I like to see how other cities do things (every city, while having to stick to certain national guidelines, creates a show that reflects their community), and it’s a way for me to support my fellow producers and meet up (on their own turf) with some of the teams I’ve coached as the LTYM National New Cities Mentor. This year, Jim was slightly astonished when I told…
- 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.
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…