Personal Blog
In Heaven, Socks are Optional
Sean O’Brien* never wore socks. It was his trademark. He was in sales and no matter how big the client or how important the deal or how influential the decision maker, Sean did not wear socks. His sock-less-ness was a badge of honor and a mark all his own. It was one of the ways […]
How to Spend Your Birthday for Work-Life (Hint: Fall in Love)
On a milestone birthday, Lisa Carraway had surgery that put her on her back—literally and figuratively. As if having surgery on her birthday wasn’t enough, she also required a long recovery and was off from work more than any other time in her working life. This was the proverbial wake up call for Lisa, leading […]
Traveling Light: Keep Only the Things that Bring You Joy
You know how sometimes there’s a movie or a scene from a movie that just sticks with you? Here’s one that sticks with me: In the Fisher King, Robin Williams plays a down-and-out dude living on the street. Toward the end of the movie, there’s a scene where someone says that they feel sorry for […]
Parenting is Not a Competitive Sport: How Failing Can Build Community
When our daughter was born, it was a little shocking to me that we were able to drive home from the hospital with so little fanfare. Wasn’t there a parenting license we should have received first? Or some kind of evaluation that was required before we could be entrusted with her fragile life? When our […]
On Being Wonder Woman
My cousin and his wife have one of those families that is really, really cute. We keep up on Facebook, so I’m always in the know about their latest activities. They are engaging and funny and real and seemingly have the best little family life ever. Iain is entering preschool and loves the drums. Ava […]
The Scientific Basis for Parenting: How Our Children Become Part of Us
Every parent who has loved a child knows the extent to which our children become a part of us. It’s a powerful thing. And it’s certainly something that all kinds of parents experience: adoptive parents, foster parents, biological parents. These little humans that pass through our lives, live in our hearts, and take a piece […]
Navigating the Great Loop of Work and Life: Relaxing into Uncertainty
Taking a year off and circumnavigating the waterways of eastern North America isn’t the typical path to renewal, but for Mary Ellen Kettelhut it has marked a sea change in her perspectives on life, and work, and what really matters. For those who don’t know, the Great Loop is a boating voyage undertaken by about […]
The 4-Day School Week: Why it’s Not that Easy for Families or Work-Life
There’s a new study* that suggests there are neutral-to-positive academic effects of 4-day school weeks on children. Hmmmm… This is all about cost-cutting. Districts that reduce to a 4-day school week save money on everything from utilities to busing costs. I get it. Schools are strapped and it’s all good for budgets and balance sheets, […]
What We Leave Behind: Lessons from Pompeii
We had the privilege of visiting Pompeii last month. It was fascinating and sobering. It was destroyed hundreds of years ago in a volcano. Most people weren’t killed by lava, but rather by the ash that covered them. There are casts of their bodies. People covering their noses and mouths as it became impossible to […]
What the Beatles Teach Us about Work-Life
The Beatles were before my time. Even so, last month we saw them in concert. A group of 50-something men wearing wigs, playing guitars and drums, and performing as the Beatles. They were good. Quite good in fact. The whole audience thought so (with the possible exception of my teenage children who rolled their eyes […]