“Oh, this isn’t good.” The blinking dashboard, clicking sounds, and flickering headlights on my van signaled real trouble. As I pulled into the QuickTrip at dusk, I dreaded turning off the car because I just knew it wouldn’t start again. So stuck in rural north Tennessee, 3 ½ hours from home with my 17-year-old daughter […]

At the small conference table in his new director’s office, Kevin confessed, “I feel so confused, and I’m just a failure at this.” Everything began to spill out: He didn’t feel supported. Other departments demanded things he just had to figure out on his own. So he was creating goals and tasks that could prove […]

I totaled my dad’s car when I was 16—in my own driveway… I backed the ‘82 Cutlass Supreme into a random F250 black truck with an enormous tow hitch that had chosen that moment to turn around in our driveway in our h-shaped driveway. What I didn’t use that winter morning? My mirrors. Cost me […]

Ding! I opened the text preview at my kitchen table. I dropped my phone on the placemat. I clenched my jaw, closed my eyes, and shook my head.  The grey bubble lacked logic and overflowed with pessimism and negativity. I read the text to my daughter, who confirmed — it didn’t make sense.⁣ I’d like […]

Poop jokes all day long in my house this week. Not because we have babies or dogs, but because we’re in our mid-40s and our doctors prescribed a colon cancer screening.  While I felt incredibly grateful for how much easier “poop-in-a-box” is than a colonoscopy, I still faced testing the most basic function of my […]