I’ve never picked a word for the year before. Maybe it is knowing that my late, dear friend Becky did this. (Her word for 2018 was “abide”– and now she is abiding with the living GOD.) Maybe I just need the accountability, but when I thought and prayed about a word – one came LOUD […]

2018 has been marked by heavy losses and gains – The loss of my first home The gain of a dream home The loss of proximity to people I’ve done life with for more than a decade The gain of family close enough to see often The loss of a dear friend The gain of […]

We all have demons For some it’s self-loathing, so deep, so shaming they dare not speak it For others it’s debilitating grief or anxiety or depression or all of the above; to get out of bed is a victory Some cut or injure themselves Some starve; some purge Some have secrets – things they’ve done […]

Last month I traveled 27 hours on three different flights to get from Omaha, Nebraska to Kathmandu, Nepal. My work gave me the opportunity to travel to any of 150 countries we do national survey research projects in. I chose Nepal. It just felt right. I knew it would be an amazing experience in a […]

I can’t sleep. My heart is too heavy. Too many people have died in my lifetime because of violence – whether it is due to mental illness, drugs, bullying, domestic violence, terrorism, or one-by-precious-one in gang warfare. It’s overwhelming to grasp the enormity of it and it starts to feel normal, like that’s just the […]