A great deal of our lives is made up of tasks. The little details and habits of daily life, carried out with a sense of pleasure and beauty, can be just as important to us as the tea ceremony is to the Japanese. The way you handle the details of a meal or a bath,…
There was a season in my life where I would wake early and not stop until I crashed each night. After getting myself ready for the day, it was on to get the kids up and ready for school, drop off kids at school, then teach preschoolers all morning, and afterward head to a second…
We live in a hidden gem, a small circle of houses tucked away, inside city limits, but unnoticed by most. Our little circle sometimes feels as if it lives in the past, with children and dogs playing outside until dusk calls them in. It’s the kind of neighborhood where we can walk next door and…
August arrives demanding more than we have to give, asking us to be both fully present in the remaining days of summer while optimistically productive in preparation for the next season to come. August has the feel of a month living simultaneously in two seasons. It is a month that holds both summer and a…
From managing adults to teaching tiny humans, observation was an essential technique taught throughout my working life. The concept behind observation is taking time to notice and record specific events, recognizing work well done, and noting areas that further coaching might be of value. I had never considered that observation also included making a judgment…
At the age of six, I moved across an ocean to a then-unknown land, Ireland. I moved with my father, pregnant mother, and three-year-old sister to a country that spoke English but was foreign all the same. I loved growing up in Ireland; it was a beautiful gift. Yet, it wasn’t always an easy life….
