WOW! My last blog post was a whopping FIVE years ago! The post before that one is from July of 2017. By the looks of my website, you'd think I'm complete off my game and/or out of the business entirely. In fact, I've been busier than ever both professionally and personally. My first kiddo was … Continue reading Spicy Or Developmentally Appropriate?
Last week my life looked very different than it does this week...and I still found myself thinking hard about conflict, its prevention, and its resolution. To be clear, I was not practicing any mediation or facilitation. I was not drinking coffee with potential clients or collaborators. I wasn't in Colorado, or even in Oregon. Instead, … Continue reading Systems for Success: Salmon Style
I love the 4th of July. From the nostalgia I feel for our family rituals from my childhood to the timeless tradition of oohing and aahing as fireworks light up the sky, it's an amazing day. I love the way that parades are for every0ne, even tiny kids on tricycles. I love pool parties, flag … Continue reading Fireworks, Neighbors, Peace?
As a child, my years were punctuated with family gatherings: Easter at one aunt's house, Thanksgiving and Christmas at ours. Each celebration filling the house with dozens of aunts, uncles, cousins, and assorted "framily" (friends who have worked their way into family status). Each of these gatherings had its own traditions, birthday cakes and trampoline … Continue reading Family Histories Alive…and Hushed
Earlier today I was trolling Facebook for inspiration. I know, I know, there are probably MANY better places than Facebook to find inspiration but there I was...you just never know right? While cat videos and recipe demonstrations don't tend to make inspire, a recent video of an emu and ostrich reacting to a "weasel ball" … Continue reading Conflict…and the Ostrich
Yesterday during a community workshop I hosted, the challenges of working with and managing millennials came up as a specific conflict at one table. We were exploring the idea of conflict styles and whether/how our natural styles for managing conflict were working (or not working) for the variety of people in the room and their … Continue reading Millennial Madness
When you have a problem with your pipes, you call a plumber. When you have a problem with your colleagues, neighbor, spouse, etc., who do you call?
The new year provides us with a predictable, sometimes relentless opportunity to look back on one year and resolve to do something differently in the year to come. A ridiculous number of these resolutions don't last long but for these first few weeks, we find ourselves renewed with hope and commitment. We invent versions of … Continue reading I Love You the Way You Are But…
This story on the long term benefits of siblings from science writer Robin Marantz Henig on NPR recently grabbed my attention. Perhaps it was Thanksgiving and the recent push of additional family time, perhaps its moving back to Colorado and simply seeing my siblings more often than I used to, perhaps its watching my … Continue reading Lifetime Benefits of Siblings
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