My mind whirred to life, like a computer booting up from sleep. I was awake, but my eyes remained closed. After a momentary delay, my ears tuned in to the hushed symphony of rainfall. Not a storm, not a weak drizzle, but the sustained sound of polite applause. Bliss.My mind turned its focus to the day ahead. My Monday morning to-do list was waiting, and my brain divided against itself. “It’s important to start the week off strong. If you give in at the start, the rest of your plans have no chance,” said one side.The other half calmly responded, “Mornings like these don’t come along very often. …
You & Improved
Why “Ugly or Beautiful?” is a Trick Question
One day Kim wrote a social media post about how ugly our backyard is after having been ravaged by a cataclysmic storm. The harsh, violent, apocalyptic hellscape is heartbreaking. And very, very ugly. A well-intentioned commenter felt the need to correct her, "No, it's beautiful." Of course, the commenter is right. It is beautiful, in many real and metaphorical ways. And the photos Kim has taken of the carnage have captured some of that beauty. But you know what? It’s also ugly. Especially in comparison to what it was before. It can be both. It is both. And that's ok. As …
[Read more...] about Why “Ugly or Beautiful?” is a Trick Question
Life Keeps Going
I woke up. The face of my bedside clock was expressionless. Still no power. It felt like time was standing still, but I knew otherwise. A quick check of my phone, whose battery was holding on for dear life, confirmed that I'd been asleep for exactly one hour. I was awake, but unfortunately, the nightmare persisted. It was 1:30 am, but no more sleep would be had by me that night. Eerie lightning flashes periodically silhouetted the stripped and broken trees rising from the backyard like a witch's bony fingers. It's an image I'll never forget. I had to leave for the airport …
Extraordinary Enthusiasm
My family recently watched a movie about a woman with a most unusual passion. In scene after scene, we watched her laugh, jump for joy, and clap like a giddy child every time she encountered the object of her affection: sharks. Playing with Sharks is a documentary about the life and passion of Valerie Taylor. The most gripping aspect of the film was the unfiltered joy that burst forth from her spirit whenever she encountered her favorite fish. When she talked about them, if you didn't know any better, you'd think she was describing an adorable corgi greeting you at the door with a wagging …
My Secret to Being So Persistent
My parents recently hosted us for a birthday dinner. In Kim's card, my Dad had written something about us being the most persistent people he knew. Kim smiled, because we know how close a cousin "persistent" is to "stubborn," which is a synonym for "unreasonable," "pig-headed," and "cantankerous."But we took it for the compliment it was intended to be.Persistence, stubbornness, an abundance of sticktoitiveness...whatever you want to call it, we definitely have it.It's what allowed us to keep going for twenty years before making it to our dream home on Lake Michigan. We endured years of …
Curating a Life
I took my kids to the art museum the other day. It had an exhibit going featuring artwork by local students, from kindergarten up to high school. Afterward, we checked out the other exhibits from the more experienced, grown-up artists.I liked the stuff from the kids better.It got me thinking about the role a museum curator plays. A quick Google search explains that he or she acquires, cares for, and develops a collection. They also arrange displays of collected and loaned works and interpret the collection in order to inform, educate, and inspire the public.I wonder how they decide what …
The Greatest of All Time
How many Super Bowl rings does it take to become a goat? I am not referring to those four-legged cheese-making mammals with a taste for tin cans.I’m talking about the label of "GOAT" – the Greatest Of All Time.As I write this, Tom Brady recently retired after twenty-two seasons in the NFL. He was the 199th pick in the draft, yet ended up with seven Super Bowl rings and threw more touchdown passes than anyone in history. He never played on a losing team. He is widely regarded as the GOAT, at least when it comes to quarterbacks.Frankly, I’m still getting used to being labeled a “goat” as …
The Problem with Straight A’s
IKEA instructions give me the cold sweats.My dad was a carpenter, but I am not the least bit handy, unless you want me to screw in a lightbulb or put a nail in a wall to hang a photo. It took me an hour to figure out how to change the spark plug in my lawnmower last summer. Also, I currently cannot solve even the most remedial algebra equation. And I am terrible at remembering names.On the other hand, I am a talented artist. An excellent speaker. A really good writer. Pretty handy in the kitchen, too.Even though there are people who wish they were half as good as me at the things I do well, I …
Increase Your Margin for Fun
Did you used to be fun?Next time you look in the mirror, I challenge you to ask the question, “Would I want to hang out with me?”I know a lot of people who label themselves as “un-fun,” wishing it weren’t so but resigned to a monotonous stream of grown-up responsibilities, obligations, and commitments.If that describes you, take heart. I refuse to believe that you’re the boring, stick-in-the-mud fuddy-duddy you (or your favorite teenager) feel like you are sometimes. That fun-having expert with a PhD in Play is still there. The problem might simply be that you don’t have any margin for …
Be a Slingshot
We’ve been bitten. By a spider.It started when we went to see Spider-Man: No Way Home before Christmas. Which led us to watch the original Toby Maguire trilogy and we just finished Andrew Garfield’s two films. My family officially has Spider-Man fever.No matter the film, I always love the dazzling acrobatic shots of Spidey swinging through the Manhattan landscape. But there’s one move I like that I don’t remember noticing before. Basically, he uses his webs to create a slingshot, and after pulling himself back, propels himself forward in order to quickly cover more ground than …