Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of being a dancer. I wanted to be flexible enough to do high kicks, strong enough to leap across across a stage. My personal practice and training in Pilates, yoga, and stretching is an extension of my desire to be a dancer. I was also in a … Continue reading Grace in My Step

Yesterday I was speaking with a friend of mine about how quickly a baby develops. One minute they say 5 words, before you know it, they're speaking phrases. One day they are rolling over, time flies, and they are crawling all over the place! As I referred to in my previous post, having a child … Continue reading Grateful for Life, Every Step

Walking to school in the cold today I saw a man riding his bike. His braving the cold made me feel LESS brave for doing it. Later that morning I mentally scoffed seeing my co-worker do such a good job. Why do I feel so threatened by other people's successes?I hope it's an ingrained mental habit … Continue reading Who Are We in Competition With?

I still remember that sinking feeling in my stomach, "We're Closed." But it was only 5:50. That's 10 minutes 'til closing time. I was 12 years old at the time, going shopping for a new pair of shoes with my mother. The way I was raised, if something closed at 6, you got there close … Continue reading “We’re Closed”

A year or so after my father's passing, my mom got rid of her car and used the one my father had been using. That meant when my brother and I both came home from the city to visit my mom we were THREE adults with ONE car. At first it felt strained to coordinate … Continue reading One Car

Raising a child is not often easy but it brings with it periods of such pure joy and high feelings—it's indescribable. Watching my daughter as she begins to speak and have new gestures is remarkable. Raising my own child, I often wonder what it was like for my father to raise me. He got married … Continue reading My Father’s Death Taught Me How to Live to the Fullest

One of the roles of a mother (and a father!) is to teach a child that they matter. Is it a coincidence that, coming from the Latin root, in British English another word for mother is mater?  It sure is, but it's an interesting one! How do you teach a child that they matter? By … Continue reading The Gift of Presence: Parenting in the Digital Age

This afternoon my mom texted me about painting my childhood room. She asked if I wanted them to keep the two cork boards which have a myriad of childhood drawings and memories of my youth. She texted me a photo. As I looked it over I racked my brain over if I could let go … Continue reading Childhood is Magical and…Fleeting

This past week I spoke with a friend of mine, Benjamin Kagedan, PsyD, CHT. Along with completing his PsyD program, he chose to take an additional training in the Hakomi Method: a mindfulness and body-based psychotherapy approach. I was interested to find out why... As Benjamin explains it, Hakomi is a therapy method that brings … Continue reading The Hakomi Method

This morning my baby daughter got a shot. It's always hard holding her and watching as she experiences this pain. What I noticed though was that, unlike me, she didn't anticipate the shot and therefore didn't tense up prior to receiving the shot—she only cried during and after the shot. I continue to work on … Continue reading Shot Resistance