Last year we cut down a very old tree that had been standing since early 1900. I loved that tree, however when very young it began to lean and left to its own devices was then leaning on my house. A recent storm was all I needed to know the tree was a danger –...
Life is often compared to an onion: peel back the layers and there’s always another layer to uncover. Change is that way, so is growth and transformation. Every new edge or “layer” reveals another one underneath. Businesses function this way as well; that’s why...
The house is quiet and the dogs are perplexed. Where did all the energy and activity go? Last week five of our sixteen grandchildren spent the week with us. We picked them up in Lafayette, Indiana on June 11 and returned them on June 19. Several things were...
Desmond Tutu once said: “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” This statement implies the connection that humans have to one another. It implies that to be human you must not only be present in the experiences of your life, but also in...
When I was a small child, I used to watch my grandfather cook in his huge airy kitchen. He was old and bent with a jaunty cap sitting sideways over unruly hair. He would blend ingredients into tasty pastas, gravies and other Italian delights. I loved his kitchen....
Last week I wrote about the relevance of time and used running a marathon as a metaphor to describe it. It is about staying in the game for the long haul, which brings me to uncertainty. In many of my training classes that I facilitate all over the United States,...
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. This is the phrase I have been saying over and over in my head for the past few months. This is probably because I was in training for a half-marathon and seriously considering a full one next year, so it is only fitting that my...
On October 11th of this year I ran and finished my first marathon: the Chicago Marathon. My time was 5:05:05. For those of you that have read my newsletter over the years, you know that running inspires me in countless ways. I am amazed at how many things have...
This past week my partner’s mother died. At 92, she was frail and withered by the time death reached out its hand to pull her close. Still the loss of a parent is sad and there will be that empty place at the table to remind us of her missing. Marybeth spent this last...
Last night I watched as storm clouds rolled in and lightening began to dance across the sky and I thought finally. All day the wind was brutal, ripping and tearing at everything not nailed down. The heat and humidity were palpable. The clouds began to roll in around...
