I was walking my dog, Koda, on a cold, bleak January morning. Thinking of a new year, and my goals, when I realized how a lot of my goals that I had last year and year before and the year before that ...are the same ones I made this year. I realized I was fighting the same stupid battles every year. Obviously I am not winning, I thought, because I am still fighting them. And then my thought process spiraled into wondering really what is the purpose of life and improving. What am I doing with my life? Kind of like how I walk Koda every morning. We are just going in circles. What's the purpose of it all? I think every year this is the year I am gonna get healthy: physically and mentally. And yet here I am battling depression, anxiety and other struggles. Still.  But then as I rounded the last corner of the block to come home I had a proverbial slap in the face. I realized that although some things are still the same, some things have changed. Good things.Things that perhaps I would n...

Happy new year! I always like the new year because it just feels new. Like a new freshly washed sheets...something like that. I know you can make goals and improve yourself all year, you do not need a date-January 1st to do it but it just feels like a clean slate.  There are a lot of books out there that talk about improving, making goals, but I thought of one the other day that I think is kinda perfect for the new year. The Little Engine That Could . Talk about a classic. The story feels vintage and nostalgic, but I love the message. I also like the similarities to The Good Samaritan. How all the important people (or trains) were just too important to help that train. But just a simple engine decides to help push the engine over the mountain. And you know the story. She just kept saying "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" over and over until they did it.  It's actually a beautiful story for everyone that and goes with one of my favorite quotes "We are all ...

Going to the dentist, I am always informed that I have one baby tooth that forgot to fall out. I am not sure what that means, but sometimes I feel there are parts of me that forgot to grow up. (I know we could have a lot of fun with that concept:) but mostly when it comes to entertainment. My favorite movies? Animated.  My favorite books? You guessed it: children's books.  My guess is most of you can say the same...maybe..no? Just me? But how about Christmas? Is there a part of you that holds onto the magic of Christmas that you experienced as a child? I hope so. Because there is a magic, an enchantment with this season. A magical time that both children and grown-up children can experience. And if not, we as adults have the opportunity to create the enchantment with others. Traditions, family time, service, food, decorations, reading...whatever our hearts desire we can create, and simply become like a child at Christmas.  And of course along with the magic is the reveren...

Reading is a powerful tool that connects us with others. A book can show a child that that they are not alone. For example, as you read with your child about Ira wondering whether or not to bring his teddy bear to his first sleepover, in the book "Ira Sleeps Over"*. That turmoil was real for Ira, and children realize its normal to be afraid of new experiences, and it is also okay to have a comfort item to help them. Reading books, the child can relate to the characters on some level. Now pair that with a trusted adult reading it to them. An adult who the child can connect with daily, consistently over a book. How can the child or the adult feel alone?  Mem Fox explains it this way:  The fire of literacy is created by the  emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading . It isn’t achieved by the book alone, nor by the child alone, nor by the adult who’s reading aloud—it’s the relationship winding between all three, bringing them together in easy harmony.*...