49, Flip Phones, and Framing History: A Birthday at Old Stone Steakhouse
There’s something about birthdays that makes you stop and appreciate the people, places, and stories that make up your life. My 49th birthday turned out to be a wonderful combination of all three, complete with a family dinner, a legendary proposal story, a little history, and some unexpected moments of reflection. My daughter is already […]
The 70-Year Echo: A Legacy of Victory Over Death
Sometimes we go looking for one memory and end up finding something we never expected. In November 2021, I was searching for our wedding video. I wanted to relive the joy of a beginning—to remember a day filled with hope, promises, and celebration. Instead, I found a message about something far […]
Dolly, I am Still Learning
Ancora Imparo: What Dolly Parton, Family Memories, and an Irish Blessing Taught Me About Growth Seeing a flurry of social media posts about Dolly Parton recently sent me down a rabbit hole of reflection. Thankfully, Dolly is still very much alive and shining her light on the world! But the outpouring […]
When The Branch Falls: What Comes After Letting Go
In my last blog post, The Temperature of the Wounded Healer: When the Tree Self-Regulates (And We Don’t), I talked about the day I learned of nature’s natural “shedding” process. I received such a wonderful response from this article that I felt like I needed to do a follow-up. When the Branch […]
The Temperature of the Wounded Healer: When the Tree Self-Regulates (And We Don’t)
Heat refuses to stay outside. It seeps into our moods, our meals, our patience, and our plans. It perfectly mimics the internal climate of our nervous systems, specifically, how we navigate our emotions when our environments, our clients, and our communities are collectively burning up. It has been exceptionally […]
Running on Fumes
We’ve all been there. The alarm goes off, but you already feel exhausted. Your to-do list keeps growing. Your patience is shorter than usual. You tell yourself you’ll rest later, catch up later, take care of yourself later. But later never seems to come. Instead, you keep pushing forward, running on fumes. […]
Why Teacher Resources Matter More Than Ever
Teacher resources aren’t just “extras”—they’re what turn a book into a learning experience that sticks. Here’s why they matter, especially for a book like One Road Leads to Another. Heroes don’t always wear capes. Sometimes they carry stacks of papers, spend evenings grading assignments, arrive early to prepare lessons, and stay late […]
Happiness in the Small Things
Collect joy today so you can borrow from it tomorrow. Those wise words were shared with me not long ago, and they deeply resonated with me. We often think happiness arrives in big moments—a dream vacation, a promotion, a special celebration, or a major life milestone. While those moments certainly matter, […]
More Than Just a Story: Launching a Children’s Book That Builds Connection
There’s something special about a children’s book. At first glance, it might look simple—colorful pages, engaging illustrations, a story that unfolds in just a few minutes. But the best children’s books do something more. They create a pause in the day. A moment to sit down, lean in, and connect. And in […]
What America’s 250th Anniversary Means to Me
The Fourth of July celebration has an extra-special twist this year. On July 4, 2026, the celebration marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776—the founding moment of the United States. This milestone is officially called the “Semiquincentennial” (a fancy word for 250th anniversary). What […]
