
A friend recently sent me a text asking if I was “interested in being a model in exchange for a free breakfast”.  I responded with a resounding YES, since that’s what friends are for, RIGHT?

What was with last week’s post?Truth be told, I wanted to play hooky and go to a matinée with a girlfriend; the only way I could make this happen was to re-purpose a bit of writing I had waiting in the wings. Like everything else though, this was done with intention as I also wanted to introduce you to some new stuff.  So here goes,

A few months ago, I was asked to write an e-learning module about the Power of Tenacity; as I contemplated the topic, I wondered what makes a person tenacious? Are you born with tenacity, or is it a learned characteristic? If we are born with the ability to be tenacious, how do we tap into it? It was with these questions in mind that I started my research.

NOTE:  Sections of this post include implied PROFANITY; please click with caution.
Truth be told, sometimes I’m purely exhausted.  So when my son asked if he could contact his cousin about attending some concert, I grunted my version of permission, positive he wouldn’t get tickets.  Man, was I wrong.

A few weeks ago, as I was pulling out of the kiddy drop-off line, I had this intense urge to slam my foot on the gas and speed down the strait that led from my kid’s high school to our home.  As my heart raced, I lifted my foot from the gas and the words “Lime Rock†popped into my head.  Giddy for a moment, my next adventure started to unfold.

Last week as I was preparing for brunch with friends, I found myself in the local liquor store. As I wandered the aisles lined with wines from around the world, I smiled, remembering the times I’d spent exploring Germany, Italy, and France. While my fingers skimmed the Cupcake and Mommy’s Time Out labels, I felt the exhaustion of parenthood wash over me and was silently grateful to be beyond the diapering phase of my life. It was with this relieved and rested spirit that I raced to find the vodka, but alas, the liquor store wasn’t done with me.

While I gazed at the bottle, I remembered every-single-popped-cork. Toasting new homes, promotions, and the birth of our children, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot was an iconic character in every adventure I enjoyed with Chris. Inspired, I purchased that exact bottle of Veuve Clicquot, and in the spirit of charity, I auctioned it off at a fundraiser called the Great Pumpkin Ball, with proceeds benefiting a cause very dear to my heart — Good Grief.

As I’ve previously written, I had reason to visit the Azores, a small archipelago of nine islands in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. [Read more…]

Sometime ago there was an American missionary living in a very tiny village. The young woman was a teacher who labored alongside the native people. One night, a boy from the missionary’s class brought her a crudely wrapped gift. The teacher was surprised as this little boy was very poor. What could he possibly give?
