Category Archive

I never remember names. I can know people for years and not have a clue what their name is. This has developed into a pretty rich neurosis, where I won’t say someone’s name even if I’m sure what it is, because what if it’s wrong? This is ridiculous. It inhibits my ability to connect with people. I’m distracted by an internal dialogue worrying about their name. So I decided to do something about it. A little Internet research says you …

I was kissing awake my 5-year-old daughter the other morning, my heart filled with love for that sweet, sleepy, warm body. From under the pillows, the most offended little voice said, “Your breath stinks.” And then, with utter disgust, “Gross.” Z keeps it real. I could feel myself flipping through the available emotions. I picked up “hurt.” I picked up “amused.” I picked up “distance.” They were all there, but they weren’t what I wanted out of that moment. I …

I have a new favorite, quiet place in Seattle. Stuck downtown by a three-hour break between coaching clients, I headed to the downtown library. On the way there, I happened to see a sign for the Frye Museum. On a whim, I changed my plan and drove to the Frye. I’d always meant to go. Opening the doors to the museum, I had a sense I was in a foreign city. I felt thrown back to my twenties, when I wandered …

I just completed a New Year’s Resolution. Back in January, I resolved to run my 2 ½ mile loop barefoot. No Vibrams. Just barefoot.  Six months later, I did it. And you’d think I was running topless. The askance looks and comments I get. Even a toddler loudly asked his mom as I ran past, “Why is that lady running with no shoes?” A good friend asked me the same question: why are you running in an urban park where …

I flinched. I went blonde again. It all started when I was talking to a nice couple at the playground. The guy looked vaguely familiar. We eventually figured out that we’d gone to business school together. Graduated in the same class. He didn’t recognize me. That’s a bit of a hit: I like to think I make more of an impression than that. And when he finally placed me, I could just see him thinking behind his nice, warm smile: …

I bumped into a favorite coaching client of mine yesterday. He exclaimed, “Guess where I’ve been!” I hadn’t a clue. I was feeling a little down, a little self defeated. My last day with Amazon is today and maybe I was feeling a little shaky about what I was walking away from. My client said, “I just got back from the gym!” He looked so happy, so sparkling. Gorgeous. And my clouds lifted. This client and I had talked during …

I went for a trail run in rattlesnake country and almost died. A friend and I ran through the meadow at the top of this photo and up into the valley beyond. This is way out in Eastern Washington. Where it’s hot and sunny, if you can imagine. We saw a dead rattlesnake on the road as we were jogging to the trail. That should have been a clue. Forty minutes in, we got to a good turnaround spot with …

I’ve been thinking about accountability. I have three coaching clients who talk to me about their weight. Possibly with some help from me, they are making significant changes in their lives. Awesome changes to their habits and self image and priorities. I then go home and eat (organic!) oreos and feel fat. I hadn’t talked about it with anyone (like my own coach, for instance) because I didn’t want to be accountable to anyone else. I know how accountability works: …

I had a birthday this week. Birthdays used to be more exciting somehow. But well-wishers hoped that I would do something special. So I decided to make it a favorite day. Highlights included writing in my favorite café, running with my daughter on her bike in the sunshine, and making pancakes with the kids for dinner. Lowlights included freezing my ass off at the playground and getting the kids to clean the playroom. It was the best day ever. The …

“Oh we don’t need stakes. It’s not going to rain.” Rookie mistake. The sound of rain pattering on the tent is a lovely sound; the sound of rain pattering inside the tent not so much. We went on our first camping trip of the summer last weekend. I’ve always wanted to go to the Dungeness Spit, a 300-foot wide spit of sand, logs and birds stretching five miles out into the Straits of Juan de Fuca. My 5-year-old thought it …