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As we embark on 2021 (finally) one thing stands out about this past year; it’s the little things that matter. The big things that happened in 2020 were mostly in the form of upending and often traumatic events; a deadly pandemic, racial reckoning, high unemployment, and widespread isolation, to name a few. But the big events that usually mark our years; the graduations, weddings, and holiday gatherings, either didn’t happen or took place over the now ubiquitous Zoom platform. Without even the usual weekly events (Monday night book club, Tuesday soccer practice) time became a little fuzzy and I often felt unmoored. But what came to the forefront, and what I hope I can continue to treasure, were the little things. A cup of coffee with just the right amount of creamer, a morning snuggle with a dog which becomes an excuse to stay in bed just a little longer. An overheard late night conversation between brothers who get to sleep a little later than normal on school mornings. Discovering t...

As children, my sister and I  saw a movie about two girls who like to touch fur coats unnoticed, so we decided to make our own Fur Coat Club . When our parents would take us to the theater or somewhere fancy, we challenged each other to see how many ladies clad in fur we could sneak past and surreptitiously touch their soft coats. As children, we travelled a lot to visit our extended family so we spent a lot of time together. We rarely fought but when we did my mother would tell us that we were friends. Prompting my sister to reply “We can’t be friends, we’re sisters!”. But, as she usually was, my mother was right. Friends we became and friends we remain, not letting more than a couple of days go by without at least a text. Now, many years later, my sons are experiencing a similar level of togetherness. They are teenagers and just as they were getting used to a higher level of freedom and responsibility, their world was locked down. The early bus rides and demanding school and te...

This fall, like most parents, I am facing the prospect of managing virtual school for my two kids, my paid part-time job, and my other job (unpaid) of managing a home and family, all under the same roof. We are lucky to be healthy and have what we need, but it’s still a daunting prospect. Which is why an email from a neighbor got me teary the other day. The subject line read “How can we help?”. My retired neighbor was reaching out to me and a couple of other mothers to see how she could support us. She offered tutoring, meals, shopping, even laundry. Her grandkids don’t live nearby, but we do. And she was offering to help. I was touched and humbled. Wasn’t I supposed to be reaching out to her to see what I could do to support her, who by just being of a certain age has one of the highest risk factors for COVID? She closed by wishing us all a Happy Gorgeous Grandma day. My children’s two gorgeous grandmas don’t live nearby and while I know they would do anything to support me, it's ...

There is a lot about 2020 that I would love to return to the universe, like an unwanted package from so much online shopping. But throughout all the mayhem there have been a few moments of joy, of calm, and of grace that I would love to keep. Shared experiences : Back in the 80’s, if it was Tuesday morning in my elementary school, then the one and only topic was what happened the night before on Little House on the Prairie; a discussion in which I, a child raised without a TV, was unable to participate. If it was Friday night, chances are you (and I, if I could score a babysitting gig in a home with a TV) were watching Dallas, the top-watched TV show of the decade. But the days of appointment television faded, the choices and platforms exploded, and we started watching whatever, whenever, and wherever we wanted, often by ourselves. That changed with the pandemic. For better or worse, it was hard to find someone who wasn’t watching the Tiger King during those first crazy weeks. Th...

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – Chinese Proverb Yesterday, my dog got more steps than I did*. Since the start of the global pandemic, my world has shrunk as has my step count. Climbing two flights of stairs to my office has been replaced by the ten steps from my kitchen to home office. I could always count on higher steps on a grocery shopping day, but even that has been replaced by delivery. My sons’ soccer games have been replaced by drills in the front yard so now the steps from my car to the field (and the subsequent pacing of a goalie mom) are no more.  Bottom line, I move a lot less than I used to, So how to keep moving in this stressful time with gyms closed and all of us sticking closer to home? First, find a form of exercise you love (or at least, don’t hate) and second, to quote friend and fitness coach Kristine Olesen, “something is better than nothing”. I finally found exercise that I love when my kids were little, and I heard abo...

I’m back. I’ve been struggling with what I wanted to write this past month and with all that is going on in the world, I felt like now is the time to let others speak. I loved this quote from August Fraser, a student athlete at Dixie State University who was interviewed at an early June protest by a reporter from the St George Spectrum & Daily News. Fraser, who is from Los Angeles had experienced racial profiling and the effects of racism. He spent his first moments at the protest calmly conversing with a man who was shouting at the protesters that “all lives matter”. “I told him about how in the bible, Jesus worried about the one sheep that was lost instead of the 99 that weren’t,” Fraser said. “I was trying to tell him, it’s not that you don’t matter or that we don’t love you, it’s just a matter of the fact that we’re the ones being hurt. That seemed to calm him down and he walked away.” Love to all. Note: Above is a new piece of artwork by a friend of mine entitle...