Minutes after I posted Tuesday’s blog, That Outfit Makes me Look Fat, I received two emails in my inbox. The first was an incredible video interview women about their feelings on aging – That is what she said-Women and Death. The second,

Last night while picking up my son from the ski bus I overheard two moms talking about their pre-teen daughters (age 12). One mother said to the other, “I hope she (referring to her daughter) didn’t freeze, she refused to wear her coat. She said it made her look fat.”

There are some days I wish would never come. Like the day we lost a friend, a daughter, a mom, a sister… These days leave me with many questions. Like a child, I ask why over and over again. God always answers the same way.

We were not born into gender. You and I didn’t come out of the womb wearing pink or blue. Those were the hats we were assigned in the nursery. Our gender is defined by social, physical, and psychological impact (Allen, 2004).

Take a tour of any Toys R Us or other department store and you will find gender communicated from birth.

Meet Penny the Hedgehog…

Our friend’s adopted a new pet. Her name is Penny. Penny is a Hedgehog.

There is something about Penny that makes me grin. (Just look at her picture and tell me the corners of your mouth don’t start to curl up.)

It is more about who she is as a Hedgehog than her 13 ounce cuteness that makes me marvel.

On a flight from Seattle to New York, my husband and I were sitting in first class. Occasionally I would look up from my reading to watch people navigate the isle to board the plane, adding the occasionally polite good morning or smile as people walked by.

There was something evoking about this picture the first time I saw it. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it; it drew me as I wondered what had been inside this ice blanketed building that caught on fire on January 03, 2014.

Dating back to 1882,

In the Illusion of Balance – Part 1 I noted the principles of balance as: motion (forward movement), focus, intention, purpose, an end goal, courage, and contentment.

Balance has a rhythm of give and take. Balance requires a personal awareness of one’s priorities,

In the Illusion of Balance – Part 1, I noted the principles of balance as: motion (forward movement), focus, intention, purpose, an end goal, and courage.

Balance has a rhythm of give and take. Balance requires a personal awareness of one’s priorities,

In a letter to his son, Eduard (1930), Albert Einstein wrote: “People are like bicycles. They can keep their balance only as long as they keep moving.” Like the woman on the tightrope in the picture above, achieving balance is beautifully illustrated by a combination of focus and forward movement towards a goal.