#ABetterYouIsABetterMe

                 Image:  Brian Snelson/Flickr C an we normalize that lounging around in your pjs during the weekend, sitting at the local cafe drinking your favorite brew, reading a meaningful book, repotting your plants, enjoying being in the homes, on the decks, and patios that most of us work hard to afford as noteworthy? Can we normalize the response to what did you do the weekend not making us feel inadequate because we didn’t go bungie jumping, parasailing, jet setting —or exploring a new geographical location?   I usually ask one of my closest friends, “What are you up to today?” And she almost always says, “Nothing (much or significant).” Inevitably as the conversation progresses she tells me how she just finished cleaning the house—how good a new candle smells that’s burning, how she is finishing up her food prep before leaving out for the gym, how she just bought a new bed comforter (linens) that make her feel good, e...

  T here was a game called, “Cry Uncle.” The concept of “crying uncle” was meant to admit defeat, or begging for mercy. Personally, I loathe the game because I found it to be a form of bullying to force someone into submission. Hold that thought.  I recall a time, many years ago,  when my brother called out for our mom. He was in a certain location in close proximity to where our mother would be alive (lived) last. But she had long been deceased when this happened. So it felt a tad eerie; him beckoning for her. That said, because he was under the influence of substance at the time—his cry was relegated to him being in an induced state of mind. But it hit me differently—I “felt” it was something deeper—but it was just a “feeling.”  I had nothing to substantiate what it was—other than it warranting sadness for him—sadness for us.  Now fast forward many years later— tons of research papers and degrees later; I know something that I didn’t know or understand back th...