Last Saturday night, a thundering boom shook the house. When I looked out the window, I could see lightning flashing across the sky. I watched all of it from a cushy living room chair. Despite the chaos outside, I was filled with an inner peace. Earlier in the day, my wife and I had taken... Continue Reading →
Writing for mental health
(A version of this story ran in February 2023) Early in my work career, I walked out of a team meeting with a friend of mine. I had slipped in late and he was giving me the rundown on what I had missed. When we were alone and could talk freely, I asked him about... Continue Reading →
The simple skills we fail to learn in high school
(A version of this story ran on March 20, 2016.) My day had not started well. I forgot that I needed to drop my son at school and I was running late to work. I still needed to make a few tweaks to a presentation I was giving later that morning and I desperately needed... Continue Reading →
‘Life moves pretty fast’ and it’s getting faster
He was ten years older and stood a foot taller than me. We were both on the quiet side. He had two daughters that were around the age of my two oldest kids. When the kids were restless during church, he and I would both stand in the back entrance-way. We would rock our babies... Continue Reading →
Let’s try this again: Paying homage to All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
(A version of this post ran in April 2020.) When life hits back, it can pack a powerful punch. In those moments, I find that I return to a few favorite things: my faith in God; my wife and my family; and my core belief system that goodness, kindness, and hard work will win out.... Continue Reading →
Becoming a hermit
When Pat, a family friend, lost her husband in the mid 1990s, she found herself rudderless. She couldn't get out of bed. She had a tough time moving on from the loss. They had been childhood sweethearts. They had spent a lifetime together and when their kids were finally out of the house and on... Continue Reading →
A willow or an oak?
Life really is like a spinning top — a child's toy that spins upright, then as it loses energy, starts to wobble with increasing amplitude before finally tipping over and rolling on its side. Where it lands nobody knows. Image by Pexels. Say what? Prior to Christmas break, I put in a couple of long... Continue Reading →
A sad day in American history
When I'd see Nate in the hall in my dorm or in the quad, he always had a smile for you. We had the same major and had a lot similar tastes. On paper, we should have been great friends. However, I learned my freshman year of college that I couldn't trust him. Nate had... Continue Reading →
Everybody’s talking, nobody’s listening
In a meeting last week, I tried to bring up a key risk that our team needed to pay closer attention. When I went to speak, three other people talked over me. I waited my turn and found a spot later in the meeting to make my point. I work with a great group of... Continue Reading →

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