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Chase Your Dreams, but Chase Them for the Right Reasons (A Commencement Address)
Keynote speech delivered on April 26, 2017, at the Dixon High School 65th Annual Scholastic Honors Banquet coordinated by the Kiwanis Club of Dixon… Students, twenty-two years ago this spring, I too was on the brink of graduating from Dixon High School, and I too was...
How to Ignore Your Way out of a Midlife Crisis
Being an adult is weird. Although my son reminds me regularly (and morbidly) that I am really, really old, I feel like I am still figuring out many of the basics of adulthood. The art of juggling family, work, finances, health, friendships, home repairs and the voice...
The Question to Ask When You Don’t Know What to Do
25 years ago... A 5-year-old girl with long brown hair, highlighted by the sun, and a smooth, tanned forehead, daydreams about her future. Her favorite animal is a toss-up between a pink flamingo and a unicorn (because they ARE real), but she desperately wants her...
What No One Ever Told You About How to Live a Loveable Life
Several weeks ago, at Artisan Clinical Associates, the sliding door that separates the waiting room from the therapy rooms fell apart. Literally.* By the time we gave up on fixing it, the white door was covered in black, greasy handprints, and it hung open and askew...
What a Daddy-Daughter Dance Can Teach You About a Better Way to Live
6:30 pm Walking toward the school door, my ten year old daughter hooks her arm through mine and squeezes me close. Bright green eyes open wide and nose scrunched, she squeals through her teeth, “Are you excited for the dance?” Honestly, it’s been a long week and I’m...
Feeling Your Feelings: The Bravest Choice for the Fullest Life
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a risk-taker. For that reason, people assume I’m brave. In many ways, I suppose it’s true. I’ve traveled alone to new places. I’ve parasailed, zip-lined, and rock-climbed, and for me, turbulence is what makes flying fun. I...
The One Simple (But Not Easy) Solution to 80% of Your Problems
“You’ll see, the ice cubes will still be there tonight.” The summer weather is sultry when I show my friend my new water bottle. Boasting state of the art technology, it can sit in the heat all day, while the ice cubes barely melt at all. He and I will be spending the...
Permission to Stop Trying So Hard to Be a Grownup
As a child, I thought being a grownup meant drinking coffee, Jazzercising (it was the 80’s), running errands, removing balloons stuck in ceiling fans and occasionally watching R-rated movies. It turns out child-me was wrong, but not about the coffee, exercise,...
The Secret to Therapy: It’s a Relationship
“Remember: It’s a relationship.” I stared gratefully at my supervisor as she spoke calm truth into my anxiety. I was about to meet with my first ever therapy client when I had come to the untimely conclusion: I knew nothing. With her words orienting me, I took a deep,...
How Therapy Helps You Find the Hero Inside of You
My kids think I’m a god. No matter what I do to correct this notion—no matter how many mistakes I make, how many times I lose my cool, how many times I have to apologize, how many times my back goes out, how many times I can’t be in two places at once or speak to more...
