When we were on Guemes Island a few weeks ago, we watched a large sailboat come up from the south. Even without binoculars, I could see the sail straining as the wind filled it. The boat tilted slightly and then glided across the water. As it came around the tip of Samish Island, it stopped.… Read More Headwinds, Tailwinds, No Winds: In sailing and cycling, as in life
For the past week, I’ve been sitting on a beach on an island off the Washington coast. It has been glorious! If you know anything about the Pacific Northwest, you might think I’m crazy. It’s April. It’s been a wet winter and most of my friends headed for warmer climes for spring break. Not me.… Read More Two Rights Don’t Make Anyone Wrong
Real love, the kind that takes your breath away, is forged in the messier moments of a life together that is more like a Jeep ride on the tundra than a cruise through the Mediterranean. … Read More Largess Over Vases Every Day
Yesterday, it was 28° F. That was an improvement over the 10 days of rain preceding it. A decade ago, I wouldn’t have ridden outside at that temperature. I made that rule in the name of protecting my precious knees. I had so many rules: dry roads, no rain (or ice or snow or sleet… Read More Acceptance or Endurance? It matters.
I have two routes to work. My preferred route is a winding country road cut into the base of a hill. It meanders through farmlands that abut the Snohomish River. When the temperatures drop below freezing or the river threatens to jump its banks, I am forced onto the freeway. The I-5 route is not… Read More 10 Reasons to Navigate Your Life Like Google Maps
Is this The Great Resignation? Or is it just time for us all to be resigned?… Read More Let’s Be Resigned
I believe we are rocks. I believe there is a core to us that is solid and defined. I believe we are all born inherently good, beautiful, perfect, and valuable. Things happen to us. Whether it is an earthquake that sharpens our edges or a river that smooths them out, we are still that rock. We are still that good, beautiful, perfect, valuable being. #TrueSelf #Blog #SEL … Read More You’re not an egg. You’re not spaghetti sauce. You are a rock.
I was a big baby the last week of August. I didn’t realize it until Tuesday morning when I was putting on my gear to go for a ride at 4:45 AM. After a week of riding in the high 40’s in tights and long sleeves (Did I mention it was AUGUST?!), I declared it… Read More One word can change your world.
It’s quite extraordinary if you think about what the human body can adapt to. More profound is the ability of the human spirit to adapt to survive. But what should we adapt to? Let’s adapt to social emotional wellbeing!… Read More We adapt…. but should we?
After more than a year of constant virtual meetings, my eyes are shot—bloodshot. For fear I was doing permanent damage, I made an appointment with my ophthalmologist. As part of the exam, he placed some dye in my eyes and shined a bright light directly at them. Suddenly, I could see every blood vessel in… Read More How a trip to the eye doctor helped me see the world less clearly
When we were at the beach, I noticed a stack of rocks on an old log. I have seen towers like these before, but I never really thought about them beyond noticing the inexplicably calming sense that I get from staring at them. I find rock formations, natural or manmade, relaxing. I must not be… Read More How a Box of Rocks Made Me Smarter—and Calmer
Some time ago, dear friends of mine retired and moved from Washington to Texas. I am terrible at goodbyes. That should be evident by the fact that this blog has been sitting half-written for nearly a year. I had intended to write it the morning after their going away party. I started to, but the… Read More It’s Never About The Furniture
Like most people working from home, I have spent the last 13 weeks video conferencing. My vibrant, three-dimensional world has been reduced to grainy images intermittently stilted by poor bandwidth, virtual backgrounds signaling our desire for sandy beaches and mountain retreats, and a grid of flattened faces. To be clear, I am grateful for all of that. Without it, the… Read More I need a heartbeat.
My daughter went back to college a couple weeks ago after being home for the winter break. I thought that she would be about 24 years old before I would have this feeling that is exploding from my heart. I can’t really put my finger on it exactly. Satisfaction? No, not big enough. Vindication? No,… Read More What every kid needs to learn before you give them tuition or luggage.
According to a US Travel Association Study released in August, Americans left 768 million (Yes, million!) vacation days on the table last year. They found that 55% of Americans did not use all of their vacation days last year (https://www.ustravel.org/press/study-record-768-million-us-vacation-days-went-unused-18-opportunity-cost-billions). That is mind boggling. I am not proud of this fact, but I have to admit… Read More Take the Day Off, America!
Birds of a Feather
Sense of belonging is a beautiful gift. You owe it to yourself to find that place where you fit at your true self.… Read More Birds of a Feather
Thursday night I got the game ball. It felt so great! In my dubious athletic career, I never got the game ball. I have thrown a game ball. I have caught a game ball- once, in the back of the head. I have dribbled a game ball, shot a game ball, even caught a game… Read More The Appreciation Equation (You might want to sit down. Turns out, it’s exponential.)
I remember when my daughter finally got too big for the sink. She was lean and long, and came into this world with her tiny muscles flexed. Her mighty legs foreshadowed her inner strength. We knew it was time when she pressed her toes against the far edge of the tub, flexed her miniature quads… Read More The monsters under the bed are in your head.
I started my day in kindergarten yesterday. Every day that I get to be in a kindergarten is a great day. First of all, they are adorable. Right there, you are guaranteed to start your day with a smile. They bounce and bop down the halls, happy as clams that it is Friday morning and… Read More Kindergarten- Where we all belong.
We don’t give much thought to our brain. I don’t anyway. I take it for granted most of the time. If you think about it, that 3 pounds of fat, protein and water (according to National Geographic ) is a truly miraculous organ. It spawned the Sistene Chapel, the International Space Station, the Gamma Knife,… Read More The Fear Brain and Reigniting the Curious Mind
This morning I PR’ed (Personal Record) on the Erg, or as I like to call it the “Magical Sliding Instrument of Pain”. I rowed 5881 meters in 30 minutes and my split broke the dreaded 2:30 by just seconds. Now, for all you flat-abbed, bicep-bulging, custom-calved whippersnappers out there chuckling at my sub-sub-sub-lightning speed, keep… Read More The downfalls of multi-tasking – or, as my Daddy would say, “Half-assing”
Despite sitting at one of those back-bending cafeteria tables, I found myself completed enthralled listening to a coach talk about his athletes this week. He spoke with such heart about the journey the team took together to win the state championship. He talked about each athlete’s strengths and contributions to the team. He talked about… Read More What the Best Coaches Know
Catherine Matthews 