Both/And…keeping it real

We can do hard things. Acknowledging both the good and hard in everyday life.

  • The Phone of the Wind…

    I sat scrolling on my phone the day before my husband and I were heading up north for an anniversary trip, half-heartedly searching for new restaurants to try or places to visit. We love “windshield time” on our drives and wandering in new places. A few interesting restaurants popped up, but none caught my attention…

  • Longing for bravery in the new year and a few lessons we can learn from Elsa…

    The heaviness he shared felt nothing short of oppressive…a 100 pound weight blanket that paralyzed in every way. He shared all the methods and advice he’d been given over a lifetime of fighting and I do mean, FIGHTING depression. From all the adages that well-meaning friends, family and professionals advise: “eat healthy, exercise, journal, pay…

  • The weary world rejoices

    Candles flicker, faces glow…. O Holy Night. I let my tears spill from my eyes without wiping them away as the Hallelujah swells – both tears of sadness, remembering how it was so hard to sing at the funerals of two beloved grandparents and tears due to the pure holiness of standing in this sanctuary…

  • Holding my rail…

    “Don’t let go of your rail.” I encouraged last week during a counseling session, to a person who has been enduring emotional abuse for the last 10 years. They have been working so hard on boundaries and I am so proud. As my day wound down, the memories and years I have been giving that…

  • Waiting for the Hydrangeas

    We drove through the dark, rainy night, peering at houses on an unfamiliar road, squinting into the inky night, searching for a specific house number. Life can look different than it does in photos, because of perspective. Things also look VERY different night to day, as well as from familiar to new and unknown. We…

  • Leaving: saturation, great gratitude and wonder…

    Washington DC/Pennsylvania (Part 7) “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” AA Milne, as heard from Winnie the Pooh. Have you ever been to a place that seeps into your being, because of both the place and the people and the experience with them? THAT was Washington for all of…

  • One last time: the sparkle, white marble and more endless saturation from The Smithsonian, Arlington and Alexandria.

    (Washington, part 6) After our day at the National Cathedral…Nana and Papa went back to the condo and we went back to the Dr. King Memorial. E needed to visit during the day. (To be true, so did I.) How many times have I said, “I’ll never forget,” while writing about Washington DC? (Either too…

  • “Keep calm, classy and respectful….”

    It is our oldest daughter’s senior year of high school. We are in the first of “lasts,” feeling both excitement and grief…the now and not yet. SO MANY both/ands, the ones I have walked through many times with clients and this year, am experiencing myself. It is with profound excitement and tremendous reflection and sorrow…

  • So much light, holiness, color and wonder….

    Washington Highlights (part 5) I did not intend to write this much detail about our trip; honestly, I feel a bit self-indulgent. To write and share at least 5 parts, I wonder if people really want to hear about the details or if this is just another authentic part of the blog, vacation memories for…

  • The White House and Ford’s Theater: both saturated in history, color and dedication.

    The White House and Ford’s Theater: both saturated in history, color and dedication.

    Washington DC highlights, (Part 4). If you’ve been to DC, you know what I’m talking about when I say the city itself could be a study in saturation. From the people, sounds, colors and everything in and outside – Washington for us was a week full of blessing, rich pictures of God’s delight, sovereignty and…