Dandelions – I’ve been obsessed with removing them from my lawn for several years. My neighbors likely snicker as they see me avenging the grass with my root digger and gardening gloves. And as this year’s crop sprung out with the spring rains this past week, it reminded me how dandelions and unhealthy team conflict […]
It was a rough weekend at the Gibson house last weekend. It was one of the few free weekends between now and summer, and there was a huge outdoor to-do list looming over our heads because Wisconsin spring is about 3 weeks behind schedule. Our rough weekend included overextending our physical abilities and then pushing […]
While helping an organization navigate a difficult conflict this past week, one of the people in the meeting talked about another person’s reaction to the situation. Here’s how he described it, “When I asked this person to come into the office on his vacation day, he pulled up his pissy pants and refused to come […]
This past week, I ran into someone who was bitter about everything. In the course of a few short hours, he complained about how something was handled, made sure everyone heard his bitter comments dismissing everyone’s opinion that didn’t match his, and generally was unpleasant to be around. As I reflected on this interaction, I […]
Early in my career, I was in a meeting with four other men. Someone said, “Since this is a committee meeting, we should probably take notes.” All four men instantly looked at me. My immediate, and unfiltered response was, “If you think I’m taking minutes because I’m the woman in the group, I’m not!” After […]
For many of us, we just returned from spring break – the amazing break from the routine of morning alarms, making lunches and shoving kids out the door each day. It’s a chance for us to hang out with our families and do something out of the normal routine. Our family took a trip to […]
The humble brag. Have you heard of it? Here’s the basic definition, and if you want to learn more, follow this link to Real Simple magazine online to read more about it. The humble brag is when you talk about how great your life is or you are, but do so in a way that […]
Friends of ours are having their wood floors stripped and stained this week. We invited them to stay at our place while the process happens. This morning the friend texted saying she felt bad because it felt like they were imposing on us. I replied with: “Let’s flip your mindset so you don’t feel guilty. […]
This past week I was diagnosed with laryngitis. Not croaky frog laryngitis, but Death Valley silent laryngitis. What feels like a whisper to me is mostly inaudible to everyone around me. Plus, according to all the websites and the doctor, whispering is actually harder on your vocal chords than talking is. The prescription for my […]
For 33 years, my dad was self-employed as a civil engineer. His office was the room above the garage. I have memories of cigar smoke, crinkly drawing paper, measuring instruments, a creaky wooden office chair, and if you were lucky a drawer where he kept candy bars. While he had mostly retired by the time […]
