Let me assure you before I go any further that I am in no way mocking anyone with an eating disorder. That said…. I used to go to church. I used to belong to a Bunco group. I used to work in an office environment. I used to travel all across the country with a group of mothers who supported, cheered, sewed costumes and did a million other things so our daughters could perform and compete on a clogging team. We spent Thanksgiving day at the Rio in Las Vegas for one of these competitions. And yes, our team won….thanks for asking. :-) Each of these communities fulfilled a role in my life but toda ..read more

Was I lost in thought…planning for all the important tasks that I think are mine? Did I reach for the stars and lose my footing on solid ground? Was I so sure that I had to know that I forgot to play in uncertainty? Can I speak my mind and give you my heart? Was I so busy making sure you were safe from all the harm life could hurl at you..at me..at us..that I clipped your wings so you wouldn’t fly? We love, we cry, we worry, we plan for the worst but hope for the best, or so we say. And all the while, while we are busy being busy, the sun rose while I wasn’t looking. And so I stopped and looke ..read more

Somewhere around 1999, a year or so after we had married, my husband I took a road trip to North Carolina, a few hours drive from Atlanta, where we now live. We decided to stop along the way and take a tour of one of the National parks and, as luck would have it (I use the term ‘luck’ loosely) we ended up with our own personal guided tour by a young forest ranger I’ll call Buck. I have no idea what his name was but that sounds like a good forest ranger name to me. Buck was so proud to tell us everything he had learned in ranger school. Ev-er-y-thing. It might be useful and interesting at this ..read more

No one gives a damn about the enneagram. There, I said it. But you know there's more to this abrupt statement so hang with me. Don't stop too soon (that will make sense later!) :-) No one cares that you can draw the enneagram symbol without lifting your pencil. That’s a cool trick but no one cares about cool tricks unless you’re a magician…which you are not. Mathematicians or architects might care about the enneagram. It’s an interesting 9 sided drawing. But other than those folks, no one cares. Before you think I’ve desecrated what so many think is a sacred symbol, please allow me to explain ..read more

What constitutes a mentor? The simple definition is: anyone who is a guiding influence in another person's life….a guide, teacher, coach or adviser. Some are intentional mentors and some take a more circuitous path becoming an unintentional mentor or what I thought myself to be, an accidental mentor. I find the idea of being a mentor a bit daunting and never set out on a path to learn the ins and outs of earning that title nor taking on the commitment and responsibility. As an Enneagram Type 7, I was always changing directions in my own life…how could I possibly take on the task of helping gui ..read more

Do you want to send a picture to your mom? Guess what? You don’t have to buy a roll of film, take a picture, drop your film off at the little Kodak kiosk, wait 3 days, hope that at least a few of those shots were good, drive back to purchase the developed photos, sift through 15 horrible pictures to find one or two decent ones, put them in an envelope and send them by US Postal service hoping they didn’t get bent by the time they were delivered across country. Today we have so much technology in our hands that we can take as many pictures as we want and just text them anywhere in the world in ..read more

“You’re too much”, they say. Too particular. Too loud. Too worried. Too positive. Too bold. Too emotional. Too happy. Too loving. Too smart. Too driven. Too calm. “To whom MUCH is given, MUCH is required.” (from the biblical narrative, Luke 12:48) Our ‘muchness’ is our innate design. It is, indeed, the gift we bring to the world. Like any great ability we must take focused attention to grow it into its full potential. A natural born athlete never succeeds without developing that gift. She works hard to strengthen all her muscles, not just her back swing, to succeed at the art of tennis. An ama ..read more

You don’t know me but you gave me a name. You’ve never met me but you tell your friends about me. You condemn me, blame me, accuse me but we were once in a crowd together, cheering for the same team, laughing together in the theater, crying together at the funeral. Celebrating. Grieving. Hoping. Encouraging. Believing. Together. You don’t even know me but you gave me a name. You call me Other. 
You know me well but now you won’t say my name. We were classmates. We were childhood sweethearts. We were friendly rivals. We were brothers and sisters. We were fellow believers. You know my name but y ..read more

I’m not a fan of the cactus in general. I like those little tiny succulents, especially the bright pink or yellow ones! And, I do like a prickly pear jelly which is delicious on a breakfast burrito. But I’ve been in the Arizona desert and run into some of the sharpest needles that side of the Mississippi. I didn’t actually run into it. I was chased into it by my mean, older cousin who knew exactly what he was doing because he lived in Arizona and just wanted for me to have that desert cactus experience! Now you know why I’m not a fan of the cactus...or certain cousins! (BTW he grew up to be pr ..read more

I’m getting good at these confessions. Covid Confessions was my first post. Then, I was pretty honest about using my son as a body shield when a bee was flying towards me. And now…Confessions of an Enneagram 7 Mom. This one is almost too much for me to share…but I feel I must. About a year ago I asked my now adult son what it was like growing up with a mom who was an Enneagram type 7. Now let me set the stage a little before I tell you the punch-in-the-gut answer. He is my first born. I gave birth to him when I was 19 and he was (and still is) the sunshine of my existence (a line from a movie ..read more