Effort is Loving

Have you ever received something that had so much thought put into it, that the effort was more valuable than the thing? It’s why my grandmother kept this awkwardly shaped Alabama pottery I made as a 3rd grader for over 30 years and why looking at this orchid every day makes me so happy. It’sContinue reading “Effort is Loving”

Home is Different for Everyone

“A chaque oiseau, son nid est beau.” Translation “To every bird, its own nest is beautiful.” Little quotes you find in New Orleans years ago that earn meaning with gained perspective. I’ve been in hundreds, maybe even thousands of homes throughout my career. The one thing I’ve noticed in every price point is the amountContinue reading “Home is Different for Everyone”

Attentiveness: Hearing What’s Not Said

Do you think of people when they aren’t around and understand what they don’t say? When you’re connected to people, you should. What I mean by this is sometimes people say things without saying them because they’re afraid to admit they’re struggling and sometimes people pull back when they need you to lean in. SometimesContinue reading “Attentiveness: Hearing What’s Not Said”

Retrain What Your Brain Looks For

So I’ve started doing a new thing with a few of my friends. Each day we actively try to take a picture of the best part of our day to share with each other at the day’s end. I got the idea online and I loved it so much I had to try it. ANDContinue reading “Retrain What Your Brain Looks For”

There’s More to Everyone’s Story

Maintaining a picket fence perfect life front is a lot of work…And not very effective if your goal is to help people. No-one has a perfect marriage, perfect children, zero conflict in friendships, no financial conflicts, perfect bodies or no insecurities – Ze-ro of us do! People learn so much more from your scars thanContinue reading “There’s More to Everyone’s Story”

Maybe if You Ask 67 Times

Maybe if you ask 67 times you’ll turn that no into a yes. Maybe reword it or ask for the same thing from a different angle. Maybe keep pushing and ask at a different time of day. Or maybe listen to the answer the first time, change the situation by doing your part to changeContinue reading “Maybe if You Ask 67 Times”

If You Died, Someone Would Cry…

Posted every year since 2015. Dear Person Who is Loved by People, This Christmas season as we’re making our gift lists and thinking about what we don’t have and want – a wish for all of us is that we remember that PEOPLE are the most important gift we will ever receive from this world.Continue reading “If You Died, Someone Would Cry…”

It’s Not Right or Wrong

It’s not right or wrong, it’s “do you understand?”… The best relationships are born and thrive in this question. It’s not always about defending your decision. It’s not always about proving to the other person why you were justified and where they were wrong. If maintaining the relationship is important to you, it’s about understandingContinue reading “It’s Not Right or Wrong”

Why Demand What You Can Request?

I was watching two little boys play yesterday, taking turns jumping off of a bench, and I hear “Get out of my way” from one to the other. Well, that wasn’t very nice. I called that little boy over and said, “Okay, I’m going to say the same thing to you in two different waysContinue reading “Why Demand What You Can Request?”

Ass-U-Me, pronounced “assooome”

When we assume, we’re relying on the information we have to feel a certain way about how things turned out. But what if we don’t have all the information? What if that friend didn’t call you back like they said they would because their kid got sick and puked all over the couch and whileContinue reading “Ass-U-Me, pronounced “assooome””