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Most goals require assists (What were yours in 2017?)

    If you play or watch soccer, you know that most goals require an assist; the pass that places the ball in an optimal position for the kicker to shoot on goal. Yes, I used a sportsy analogy and no you did not click over to the wrong blog.  As the new year approaches, many people consider making goals. I don’t feel ready to make goals, and I think that’s because I need to think small–or more detailed– before I can think big. In detailing and itemizing some of my assists from 2017, I might notice… Read More »Most goals require assists (What were yours in 2017?)

    The Hanukkah Tradition That Comes from My Non-Jewish Mother In Law

      Sometimes we create our own traditions, sometimes we carry on a tradition we inherit, and sometimes a tradition can come from unexpected places.   It began with the larger of the two cut-crystal dreidels (top left). My mother-in-law Sue gave it to me the first time I went home with my then-boyfriend for their family Christmas. My Jewish upbringing didn’t include holiday decor of any sort, beyond lighting the Menorah or weekly Shabbat candles. Our traditions comprised mainly of food, presents, food, family, observance, and food. Mmmmmmm fooooooood. I received the crystal driedel in the spirit… Read More »The Hanukkah Tradition That Comes from My Non-Jewish Mother In Law

      #30BrighterDays: gains, losses, and lying punk egos

        The 30th Brighter Day! The 30th blog post in 30 days. I have less than 30 minutes worth of one kid’s drum lesson to finish this post before I need to make dinner and head to the other kid’s orchestra concert. Today marks a milestone, in completing a new endeavor to brighten November, and also that I’ve posted more in one month than I do in most entire years. Furthermore I tasked myself with a practice and stuck with it even when I didn’t feel inspired! And!! The process brought inspiration back to me every… Read More »#30BrighterDays: gains, losses, and lying punk egos

        Today’s Gifts #30BrighterDays

          Sunshine. Bodies that heal and can take you anywhere you want to go. A sample of a red lip color that is completely perfect (Bare Minerals Statement Matte Liquid Lipcolor in VIP. Not paid to say that, because I am super good at not getting paid to say things). Sunshine. Tom Kha soup. A pom pom hat. Sunshine.   You. Me. Today. Exactly as we are. *** Keeping it short today. Tomorrow will likely be longer and more reflective as I wrap up #30BrighterDays  

          Planting Bulbs: On Growth You Can’t Measure #30BrighterDays

            Dig a trench. Throw in some bulbs. Cover them with dirt. I’ve never planted bulbs, but I hear it’s simple. Do the work before the first frost, and with luck tulips shoot up come springtime. In the meantime you have frozen ground, growth you can’t measure, and blind faith that results await. I’m in a planting bulbs phase. Each time I sit down to write, each time I publish and share a blog post, another bulb goes in the trench. I don’t know where this leads, and I cannot measure my progress except for showing… Read More »Planting Bulbs: On Growth You Can’t Measure #30BrighterDays

            Helping kids write, helping me write #30BrighterDays

              My kids dislike writing. Many of the kids in my son’s class do, too. I know this because I assist in my fifth-grader’s classroom with writing twice weekly. The Process Even though I write with some level of skill, I have no solid teaching methods beyond intuition and parenting experience. Those don’t necessarily help when a kid simply does not want to go deep brain-diving for word inspiration, or to try catching the right words in a net, to fish that inventory out of their head, not to mention to then string it all together.… Read More »Helping kids write, helping me write #30BrighterDays

              5 signs it’s Sunday of a holiday weekend

                The couch isn’t quite close enough to the dining room table.   Buddy, my DIL (dog in law)   2. Out of a deck of 44 goddess oracle cards you choose Cordelia whose messages states “You have been indoors too long. Go outside and get some fresh air.” 3. You need a quick snooze immediately following your nap. 4. After a meal you need a dessert. After dessert you look for a snack. After a snack your eyes scan the room for candy dishes just to play it safe. 5. You hear Demogorgon sounds coming… Read More »5 signs it’s Sunday of a holiday weekend

                Better than a Black Friday Bargain #30BrighterDays

                  We plugged this parking meter with nickles and pennies. For real. One thin dime couldn’t even shine your shoes when On Broadway was released in 1963, but in 2017 downtown Sycamore, Illinois ten cents buys you two full hours of street parking. Once in high school, the art teacher stopped on the stairway in front of me to pick up a penny. He turned to me with his eyes smiling and said “PENNIES turn into DOLLARS” and waved his hand around the coin to disappear it like a magician. Earlier this week my younger son… Read More »Better than a Black Friday Bargain #30BrighterDays

                  Familial #30BrighterDays

                    Last night I got my first decent sleep in many days. Thanksgiving feast for 19 was a resounding success; a relaxed convivial atmosphere wherein foil serving troughs blissfully coexisted with Spode china. Everyone cooked and served and cleaned, which made hosting doable and even more intimate. All those hands whisked, served, cleared and washed together who in years past diapered, fed, rocked, and wiped faces alongside me (or, me, in the case of my parents). I love when family and friends combine and it all feels familiar. Familial. If you want to see the biggest… Read More »Familial #30BrighterDays

                    Leaves: Five Years Later #30BrighterDays

                      Holidays bring up all sorts of FEELINGS, and if you find yourself needing to dig deep before breaking down bread with your clusterfamilia® may I suggest a bit of an antidote – this post by my friend Vikki, China Gets Broken. *** Five years ago I wrote my own Thanksgiving story, Leaves,  about our dining room table and the complex family that surrounds it. Like Vikki shared about her own piece, I believe this is one of the more thoughtful things I’ve ever written. Today my extended family continues to shape-shift, but our own home… Read More »Leaves: Five Years Later #30BrighterDays