Posts Tagged ‘Bitter or Better’
Change is difficult. And inevitable. And involves choices.
This column originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on February 24, 2019. Bad news comes on many fronts — a cancer diagnosis, a death, or loss of a job. While we often can’t control the circumstances, we can control our response. Which means life can deliver us to a crossroads with a challenge…
Read MoreEnduring Lessons in Resiliency and Empowerment
This piece originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on January 20, 2019. Have you discovered your life’s purpose? Gloria Perez found hers early in life. Perez spent 10 years in a two-parent family committed to faith, education, and the community. Then her father died of cancer. As a young girl, she witnessed the struggles of…
Read MoreBending, Blending and Setting Boundaries for an Even Better Year
This piece originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on January 6, 2019. We’re days into a new year but I’m still thinking about the one we left behind. December was a whirlwind month, filled with fun, obligations, cheer, reverence, and stress. While it’s still fresh, I’m reflecting on what worked, what didn’t work,…
Read MoreWings for Widows: Offering a Better Way to Navigate the Aftermath of a Loss
This column originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on December 9, 2018. Word came by phone, delivered by a stranger I never did meet. Nine years ago, my husband, the father of four, died in a hospital emergency room after efforts to coax his heart back into service fell short. In an…
Read MoreLessons from Military Life and Its Transitions
This piece originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on November 11, 2018. Teresa graduated from high school with no direction. When she joined the Navy, she had never been anywhere, done anything, or worked in any way. She quickly discovered the military is more than a job – it’s a way of life.…
Read MoreREALTORS® Stepping Forward and Living the “Better” Choice
It was dark and rainy and Saturday morning to boot. My husband, the CEO of Minnesota REALTORS®, had signed us up to participate in the REALTORS® Relief Run, held in conjunction with the National Association of REALTORS annual meeting. Just a day earlier I would have tried to talk Chris out of attending, leveraging his…
Read MoreWe can be better. If we choose.
This piece originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on November 1, 2018. As I was born to a Jewish mother and Catholic father, it feels poetic that a Catholic priest shared a Jewish man’s life-changing wisdom with me nearly a decade ago. I was in a dark place, trying to make sense of…
Read MoreFrom Surviving to Thriving
This piece originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on October 14, 2018. We all accumulate scars in life, some more penetrating than others. How – and why — do some people falter, some survive, and yet others thrive? That question so intrigued Emma J. Bell that she stepped away from a judgeship to…
Read MoreAutism, Mothers and the Great Gift of Planning
This piece originally appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on May 13, 2018. One in 42. That was the prevalence of autism in 8-year-old Minnesotans in 2014, the CDC recently reported, compared to one in 59 nationally. So for an awful lot of moms, “our day” triggers a constellation of emotions: sadness,…
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