“First sign of madness, talking to your own head.”- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix “I do that,” Emma whispered, looking up from the giant Harry Potter book in her lap. “What’s that?” I asked. “In Harry Potter,” she continued, “it said the first...
In preparation for the end of my car’s lease, I spent some time cleaning it out last weekend. I began with the glove box and moved to other compartments, big and small, that have gathered miscellaneous items over the years. Parking passes to pick up...
I learned a new word recently: “resilin.” It’s a rubber-like protein that allows insects to efficiently flap their wings, stretch or jump up to 40 times their length. Over an insect’s lifespan, it allows the hinges on their joints and tendons to bend back and...
In many ways, the pandemic feels like a space between things. A confusing and ambiguous gap. A pause in time. It’s a time defined by the absence of normal. We find ourselves between the time before last March and an unknown time in the future...
“The best thing that has happened to me in my life has come from handling the worst that has happened to me in my life.” - Dick Hoyt, 1940-2021 1,130 endurance events. 72 marathons and 6 Ironman Triathlons. To any athlete, it would be a list...
My phone just showed me a picture from one year ago today. In it I’m on a colorful boat in Mexico City with my family. I reminisce about how different things were. In the photo, our smiles offer no hints of awareness of how much...
My daughter Emma is delighted by riddles. A benefit of distance learning is that the two of us share a special little routine during the day: we send each other riddles over email. During breaks in our day, we reply back and forth with guesses of...
Quitting has a bad reputation. Even when things seem extra crummy or we have lots of reasons for giving up – whether it’s a course we are taking or a relationship that isn’t working or a job we aren’t finding satisfaction in – our society...
A long time ago, when we thought nothing of standing in crowded groups (mere inches from others), our family went to a parade at Disneyland. People were holding balloons and waving streamers and magic wands in the air. Far in the distance, we heard music...
There is a well-known saying about the difficulty of putting toothpaste back in the tube. The toothpaste is a metaphor for hurtful words or actions that can’t be taken back. Once they are out, it becomes as impossible as putting toothpaste back in a flattened,...