Much of my happiness comes from the outdoors, either being outside or bringing parts of it inside. Nature fascinates me to the point of referring to myself as a “Nature Nerd.” It’s impossible for me to walk a beach or hike a mountain without collecting seashells or rocks. I am easily awed by the intricate and colorful patterns of a…
Fantasizing about what life will be like as grown-ups is part of childhood. Children’s imaginations continually bloom with thoughts of careers, houses, spouses, and the possibility of children. They paint colorful pictures of what their lives will be like. They dream, without abandon, about their futures. With time and maturity, those dreams, or variations of…
Fort Collins is home to the only lowland Nordic ski team in Colorado, the Poudre School District Prairie Dogs. In 2017, Kyle Steitz, the coach, was laughed at by the other twelve teams in the state. Everyone assumed a team of Lowlanders didn’t stand a chance. The competition had grown up on Nordic skis. Most…
I’m sure you’ve met them, but I want to introduce you to my friends, Will and Way. I met them years ago. They met at the beginning of time. Perhaps they crossed paths at the intersection of Possibility and Solution. It’s a place where they are still commonly found. They took an immediate liking to…
Saying what you mean to say requires intention and attention. Choose your words carefully, for they can be spoken wrong or received wrong. Thinking before speaking can be the difference between saying what you mean or having it all come out differently than you intended. I learned first-hand the truth of the importance of saying…
Light and sound travel swiftly, much quicker than time, but the speed of life has its own pace. Days, weeks, and months pass in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, whole years have come and gone. There are also the stints of life that crawl by because they are so exciting or…
My daughter and I have just returned from her college orientation. The time to spread her wings is coming, but not until September. In the meantime, anticipation is settling in for both of us. Emotions bound to engulf us are on the horizon. That far-off feeling of excitement or the looming thought of dread is…
Do you see the dog howling? Or the snail head? Does something else catch your attention? Cloud formations are fascinating. Depending on a person’s imagination, the fluffy white puffs against a blue backdrop can vastly differ from person to person. Our imaginations make connections and give life to shapes in the clouds. What is obvious…
April is National Donate Life Month, and National Pediatric Transplant Week is April 23-29, 2023. Donate Life is the national registry for matching organ, eye, and tissue donors and recipients. The Be The Match organization pairs bone marrow transplant recipients with non-related donors worldwide. As a parent of both a bone marrow transplant recipient and…
On a hike last summer, I came across abandoned railroad tracks previously used by miners. Their abrupt end got me thinking. There are times when the path we are traveling on in life ends and we must venture into the unknown. We have to figure out another way. The challenge becomes identifying a new route…