Be Green in the Restroom: Shake and Fold

If you’re like me, you grab at least two paper towels after washing your hands in a public restroom.  One is rarely enough to do the trick… until I learned to Shake and Fold, thanks to Joe Smith on TED Talks. You can reduce paper towel waste in public restrooms by changing two simple behaviors [...]

The Almost-Last Supper in Squamish BC

Friday was my last full day in Squamish visiting my daughter.  After dropping her at the bus station, I worked through my To-Do list but didn’t count on the sun pulling me outside. Doing the laundry was my undoing. Instead of throwing things in the dryer, I scouted for a drying rack in the back [...]

Melting at the spa in Whistler, BC

What does the phrase “Mother’s Day” conjure up in your mind? Here’s a list of my thoughts: Only three days left and I’m in Canada where mail is pokey slow and I didn’t buy my mom a card.  sigh. I’m flying home on Mother’s Day after two glorious weeks with my daughter. This trip wasn’t [...]

Dining with my daughter in Squamish, BC

Memorable meals are social occasions.  In a recent issue of Bon Appétit magazine, Andrew Knowlton said that one of the most important parts of planning a dinner party is to invite interesting guests to the table.  While Knowlton isn’t fond of a table full of people who are exactly like, I can’t imagine the drudgery of eating [...]

Well-being is the best health insurance

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a special section about innovations in health care (April 16, 2012) that pointed out the value of feeling good about your health instead of focusing on test results. It’s true that you might feel badly about having high blood pressure, but when the doctor tells you to change your [...]

Thank you, Taylor Mali, for reminding me I’m a miracle worker

I went to a poetry reading last week. I laughed.  I pondered.  And I walked away inspired. The poet was Taylor Mali, a teacher who chose to leave the classroom and take his poetry readings on tour so he could keep on teaching, but to a different and larger audience.  He has almost accomplished his [...]

Spring Break in Cleveland

Spring Break!  No grad school for one week, so how did I spend my time off?  We took a road trip to Cleveland (nowhere near Florida)  to visit our son who is a first-time homeowner. What does that mean?  A “Honey-Do” list, but no “honey” to do them. Beer, but in small quantities.  And “shirts [...]

Living in two worlds and finding the balance… social work and free enterprise can thrive together

I find myself on the edges most of the time. In a group of evangelical Christians, I am the doubter, the liberal, the rebel with too much eagerness to change things as they are. In a group of liberal academics, I am the conservative, a naïve follower, the conformist struggling to understand why things have [...]

Life Lessons for a Late Bloomer

This week, tears are my friend. Bitter, angry, defeated tears.  Heart-filled, hope-filled, empathetic tears.  Passionate, empty-arms, mother-heart tears. Every drop waters the ME that is blooming in grad school. This isn’t what I signed up for. This isn’t in the curriculum. This is part of the process that I am trusting. Saturday’s class The topic [...]

Religion… Food… Community

  This is a quiz.  Quick!  Is there a connection between religion, food, and community?   I see that hand.   Yes!  There is a common thread.  The word “fellowship” shows up in religious settings, meaning a time when people get together to socialize, often sharing food. I take part in this ritual on a [...]