My friend Dr. Bruce Francke turned 57 last week. His birthday also happened to fall on his 30 year anniversary working at Bay Animal Hospital (not counting the three years he worked in the kennel in high school). Bruce’s expectations for the day were pretty low. With his practice down three doctors in recent months,… Read More
Just For Fun
Resolve To Be Bored More Often
What’s your #1 resolution for the new year? Mine is to be bored more often. It recently dawned on me that I live my life in a state of perpetual distraction. If I’m not actively engaged with something, I listen to podcasts or audiobooks on my headphones or scroll on my phone in search of… Read More
You Can Choose To Be Happy…Or Not
For years, I would roll into the holiday season with joint goals of keeping up my normal work schedule and also celebrating the season doing the little rituals that I love. Invariably, I would find myself dealing with issues, events and people I had not factored into my plans. Here’s the story of how I… Read More
“Remember When?” The Gift of Reflection
The holiday season can fill us with warmth. And I’m not just referring to the warmth of the chili I enjoyed this week at a neighborhood holiday chili party. The holidays are a time to celebrate with friends and family. It’s also a time of reflection… a very meaningful gift we can each give ourselves…. Read More
Birthday Reflections: Our Only Constant Is Change
My friend was recently mortified when she took her young son to see his grandparents for Thanksgiving. On arrival, my friend released her little boy from his carseat, allowing him to sprint to his grandmother’s waiting arms. As he reached her, the boy said excitedly, “Grandmother! You’ve gotten older!” The little boy meant this as… Read More
My Open Mic Night: Discovering Growth in the Uncomfortable
When was the last time you did something that scared you? For me, it was this past weekend. Six weeks ago, I signed up for a standup comedy class. While I have done improv comedy for about 10 years now, I’ve never done standup. I thought this class would be an opportunity to pick up… Read More