It’s my birthday today—January 1—and there are only 31 more years until I’m 100! I did the math (with a bit of internet help, of course). That’s 11,323 days still waiting to be lived. Days filled with moments to be noticed and savored. A whole bunch of potential red-letter days. Oh, my. When you think about it like that, there are so many good moments, days, and years still ahead. And although I can often skate into optimism pretty quickly, I know there are going to be days it feels more like I’m wearing mukluks, trudging through nine Continue Reading
Farmers Taught Us Well
I learned it first in farming. Farmers and families coming together when the fields were ready for harvest and the rain was coming tomorrow as sure as the sun comes up. Trucks and combines moving across dusty gravel roads in single file and descending on someone’s farm to help them get their crop in. Then the John Deeres and Massey Fergusons caravanning to the next farm with ears tuned in to weather reports while turning on lights to break through the dusk, and men and women in overalls praying for just a couple more hours. People Continue Reading
My Emergency Board Meeting
So, I had a little meeting with myself this afternoon. Kind of like an emergency board meeting when something is bubbling up that needs to be addressed right away by those responsible for overseeing all things before the situation gets out of control and does more damage. Since I’m CEO and chief overseer of my life, I scheduled the meeting, put myself on the agenda, prepared a snack (strawberry kiwi collagen protein drink), and called the meeting to order. The agenda item? Moving out of the swirl and finding fresh strength. Have Continue Reading
One Thing Is Essential
Well, it’s that time of the year. We’re either extremely overwhelmed with the to-do lists, the shopping, the shoveling (Hello! We live in Minnesota!), the commitments, the coughs, and all the stuff… OR… We are talking about being overwhelmed with the to-do lists, the shopping, the shopping, the commitments, the coughs, and all the stuff. You think we would have learned last year, right? We can’t do everything. Not everything needs to be done. Most of us aren’t going to completely ignore all the things that make Christmas Continue Reading
Reset and Recalculate
My energy tank was on empty and I was coasting on fumes. “Frumpy” and “worn out” were self-describing words that I heard repeatedly in my mind. Muscles ached, and neither “fresh” nor “radiant” described my complexion. I felt ... old. And then I heard an interview on the radio that sent me into a “You’ve got to be kidding me!” moment. The young woman was talking about her high school experience — 15 years earlier. She coyly said, “That was when I was young! Let’s not talk about how many years ago that was!” And then she added a Continue Reading