#30BrighterDays

Low Power Mode #30BrighterDays

When the iPhone battery loses most of its charge, you get a prompt to switch to “low power mode.” Low power mode costs you brightness and speed, but it saves the phone from dying. What great advice for humans; downshift to safeguard our energy before crashing. Since humans don’t come with convenient displays and toggle-switches, it isn’t always easy to identify when we need to conserve our power. Certain signals might catch our attention in the short term (hunger, exhaustion, bad mood, impatience), but symptoms of a longer-term deficit can prove harder to detect (general depression… Read More »Low Power Mode #30BrighterDays

Fall Back #30BrighterDays

Fall back. Fall back into leaf piles. Fall back into leaf-jumpers were adorable in theory, but leaf piles amassed by four capable raking bodies is infinitely better in practice. Fall back into the satisfaction of city leaf collectors taking all the leaf piles away. Fall back into Stranger Things. Fall back into a boy in your bed, afraid of Stranger Things, who keeps wanting to watch Stranger Things. Fall back into chili and dal and a full menu of child-repellent stews. Fall back into you may help yourself to a bowl of cereal instead. No… Read More »Fall Back #30BrighterDays

Show up, then try a new another route. ZING! #30BrighterDays

When I woke up I thought I might choose an “off” exercise day today. By the time my coffee kicked in and both boys left for school, I felt energized and laced up my running shoes. I typically run different variations of the same route, and as I neared my usual turn-around point, I decided to keep going and enjoy a detour onto the rustic trail that goes through the park (instead of the paved bike path). I had to watch my footing given all the leaves, roots, and rocks. Ducking under low brush, side-stepping… Read More »Show up, then try a new another route. ZING! #30BrighterDays

Enduring Wisdom From Annoying George #30BrighterDays

I can’t recall now why I found George so very annoying. The word “pontificating” comes to mind; maybe he was a mansplainer, an interrupter or condescending. I’m quite certain he was also kind and insightful. Who knows, maybe the problem had more to do with my own impatience and lack of generosity. Or maybe I’m being too generous now, and he was legitimately a top-notch butthead. I really don’t remember. In fact, I recall relatively few people from my grad school years at all because my focus rested almost entirely on this face… But I do… Read More »Enduring Wisdom From Annoying George #30BrighterDays

Community Brighteners #30BrighterDays

Good news surrounds us, with many hard-working people collaborating to serve others in order to create that good news. This weekend I took notice of community-brighteners. My friend Takeyla kicked off her brand new book club geared toward 4th-7th grade Black Boys, We Read Too. Please “like” her page on Facebook so her posts can catch as many eyeballs as possible. Look forward to her writing workshops for Women of Color as well, aptly named We Write Too. Benton liked the idea of getting her son together with other boys to explore different books, to read together… Read More »Community Brighteners #30BrighterDays

Little Brighteners #30BrighterDays

My friend Erin runs a Montessori preschool. They teach the toddlers to set a table at lunchtime with plates, silverware, and cloth napkins. Erin models this tendency of taking a little more care with the everyday. I thought of her yesterday when I had a visitor, so I arranged this tray. Simple, but a little brighter than your average hummus tub (p.s. I think Hummus Tub would be a great wrestling name). food styled and shot by an award-winning professional Little ways I brighten a day: Taking a little more care with what I… Read More »Little Brighteners #30BrighterDays

Getting Ready Time #30BrighterDays

In seventh grade I got my very popular best friend Megan all to myself for trick-or-treating. I dressed as JR from Dallas wearing one of my step-dad’s sport coats, and she dressed as Sue Ellen wearing a flouncy prairie dress out of the back of my closet that someone must’ve worn in a 1970s wedding party. We danced along the rainy streets, with a silly walk and a song about Megan’s splint. Megan had a splint because she nearly ran through a window, gashing her wrist during a middle school rendition of boys-chase-girls at a… Read More »Getting Ready Time #30BrighterDays

#30BrighterDays

Hi. It’s November. The days are getting darker and colder and grayer and damper. Sun will hold limited office hours, so I decided to plug in my blog and use it for a Lite Brite this month. Every day I plan to challenge myself to find my own brightness– to share something that will brighten my day and inspire you to find brightness, too. This picture was taken last weekend in Sturgeon Bay. The forecast predicted rain and more rain. While rain would not interfere with our overeating and laying on the couch Door County… Read More »#30BrighterDays