Category: Just Keep Swimming
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Hold My Hand
One day recently, I watched as a mother successfully completed the juggling act that is getting two children under 3 from the car, safely through a parking lot, and to the entrance of their destination. “Hold my hand,” she told them. Both kids were old enough to walk – one of them clearly would have…
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Adventure Is Out There
Last week, my son went away to summer camp. At face value, there is nothing remarkable about that statement. He’s almost 12, headed to middle school, and was at camp with his Boy Scout troop. Going away to summer camp is a typical thing for an almost 12 year old Boy Scout. But this specific…
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The View From Here..
School ended today at 12pm. By 12:20pm I had four extra kids in the house – two friends of my son and two friends of my daughter. They all came home from school with us and will all spend the night. It’s a huge “Welcome to Summer” celebration. Earlier today as I was leaving work…
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A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words…
We are in the swift downhill race to the end of elementary school for my son. Every single day there is some celebration marking the end of the class of 2017’s time at the school. Today that celebration was an awards ceremony honoring academic achievement. My smarty pants, loves school, never met a book he…
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Too Much!
One day last week I spent sometime updating calendar. There were at least a dozen things – some work related, some volunteer related, some kid related – that I knew were happening, but had not yet made it onto the calendar. I am generally pretty good about getting things down on the calendar as soon…
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Maintenance Dose
377 days. That’s the total number of days between the date my son was first prescribed psychiatric medication and today. In those days the type of medication has changed 3 times and the dosages have been adjusted 7 times. And today, on day 377, the psychiatrist sat across the desk from us and told us…
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Love, Faith, and Anxiety
Maundy Thursday is the day that Christians commemorate the gathering of Jesus and his disciples for the Last Supper. Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning commandment, in reference to Jesus’ teachings about a new commandment. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one…
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Look Closer…
One year ago today…. This was a picture perfect day as captured from the rooftop deck at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I remember the first part of the day being a lovely family outing. And there are dozens of other pictures taken that morning which support my memory. But shortly after this picture was taken,…
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Life is tough…But so are you
Recently a very brave friend has been struggling, and sharing her struggle publicly on Facebook. In recent days she has shared, through words and pictures, that she is feeling vulnerable and broken. My guess is her posts are making many people uncomfortable, but I see so much strength in her candor and her willingness to share…
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Choosing Grace
Should. That’s a trigger word for me. I know I use it with myself too much, but I make an extreme effort to not use with it other people. In my opinion, “should” feels critical or judgmental. It diminishes the possibility that there is more than one “right” way to do or be or feel.…
We're All A Little Broken 