This post is part of a series I call Christmas, where I've explored my complicated relationship with the holiday over the years. The first time Christmas turned up in my posts was in 2014. It was my second Christmas as a single parent. In 2016, it made an appearance in my post related to things [...]
What do we know about systems? Once they are up and running, they tend to get stronger and stronger; they become systemized! I only have to look at the systems we have in our household to see just how entrenched they have become. Who makes dinner? Me. Who cleans up after dinner? Me again. Who [...]
For much of my life, I've tried to fit into situations and conversations that never quite fit me back. My grandma used to say, "There you go, being contrary again; that's the Smith in you." She meant it as a quip about my argumentative streak, supposedly inherited from her husband's side of the family. But [...]
I'm an accountant. Accountants are notoriously bad at communication. Often, someone chooses to become an accountant because numbers are so straightforward. They are clear, concise, and easy to line up, deal with and sort. They are usually associated with projects and decisions with clear outcomes. I have stated it and will repeat it – I [...]
In the very few moments when I wasn't working this year, I was thinking about working better. I got in over my head by saying yes to all work that came my way. Why did I say yes? Saying yes was my lifeline out of pandemic limbo. It combined with my life training not to [...]
Christmas, I am not a fan. Why, as a society, have we not yet outgrown the need for Christmas? Why does Christmas persist? Why, oh, why won't we come to our collective societal senses and banish it once and for all? I have come to the conclusion that Christmas is a self-perpetuating system, a feedback [...]
Photo by Bruno Figueiredo on Unsplash There has been a recent spate of discussion about the importance of Connection. Unconnected people feel alone, and lonely people, not surprisingly, don't have as positive health outcomes as those people who feel loved and connected to the world. It only took a pandemic and a bunch of people who were suddenly [...]
Photo by David Marcu on Unsplash Yes, I stole that title; my good friend posted it on Facebook a few months ago, and it's been ricocheting around in my brain ever since I read it. The author is Theodore Roosevelt - apparently, that man had some things figured out that I've taken longer to learn. Comparison. It's insidious. [...]
Photo by Anton Scherbakov on Unsplash Christmas What? Yes, Christmas is the word that can suddenly switch my day from ticking along smoothly to suddenly becoming one of "those days." Yes, "Christmas" and yes, just the word "Christmas." Christmas starts to pop up in discussions (or so I have noticed) in about September, and then it becomes a major theme [...]
Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash Hi, Yesterday you inspired me to write this post. Why? Because I only write about what I know, and everything you said resonated with me. "I know that," I thought to myself. "Yes, I've felt that way too." I had a consoling platitude for everything you said. I wanted [...]