Yoga for Cube Dwellers
When I was training for my yoga instructor certification, a work colleague asked me to consider offering yoga at our workplace. So began Yoga for Cube Dwellers — 15-minute bursts of yoga that we can do in conference rooms while wearing our work clothes. If you’re ever feeling a bit boxed in at work … or at home … try putting on some gentle music … Continue reading Yoga for Cube Dwellers
Yoga for Cube Dwellers
Ready to loosen up and re-energize? Set your work aside for 15 minutes of simple yoga stretches and breath-work. (No mats, yoga pants, toe-touching, or pretzel-style twisting required!) Continue reading Yoga for Cube Dwellers
Strangers
“I’m not a stranger,” said the approaching stranger, as I encouraged my dog to keep all four paws on the sidewalk. Leo and I had been on the home stretch of our morning constitutional when I spotted the man across the street. He had the wide-open face of one whose mind is still that of a child. “Is he a nice doggie?” he had called … Continue reading Strangers
Right-sizing
We are downsizing. There. I said it. It feels like a confession. While many people our age are movin’ on up, we’re waving at them as they pass by … from the down escalator. If feels crazy. We live on a lovely two-acre lot with two distinct ecosystems: mossy, lichen-filled woods and a stream in back; sunny landscaped yard in front. We have great neighbors. We have lovely sunsets. We have peace … Continue reading Right-sizing
Summer’s end
All too aware that the last week of summer vacation was slipping through our fingers, my son and I hurried about with almost manic energy. We played croquet and Legos, picked tomatoes and beans, and took the dog for walks along a nearby lake. When my son napped, I did laundry, pulled weeds and made lists preparing for the start of school. Then yesterday, for no apparent reason, we came from opposite ends of … Continue reading Summer’s end
The forgotten art of rough-housing
When we brought our son home from India at age 3, he was all about the physical world. He wanted to touch everything, his hands darting out every which way to grab objects he saw not just in front of him but in his peripheral vision too. He also wanted to eat everything — even my ultimate challenge: a beet-swiss chard salad sprinkled with feta and topped with balsamic dressing. He devoured … Continue reading The forgotten art of rough-housing
Rethinking perfect
Parents with a difficult child should work toward “appropriate and successful behavior patterns 80 percent of the time … ,” writes Ronald Federici in Help for the Hopeless Child. “Sometimes families expect perfection, which is a totally unrealistic expectation.” I had just stumbled onto this blurb on Amazon, but it stopped me cold. I wondered, had I been putting unrealistic expectations on our son? I have always had … Continue reading Rethinking perfect
Um! Yah! Yah!
I did something new last Sunday: I shouted in church. No, I wasn’t slain in the spirit or anything like that—we’re Washington State Presbyterians (and grew up as Minnesota Lutherans). Sure, now and then someone will punctuate a point in the sermon with an “Amen!,” and a couple of women sometimes sing with their hands lifted high, but our senior pastor likes to joke that our … Continue reading Um! Yah! Yah!
Three minor epiphanies of the week
1. Some dogs don’t mix well with stuffed animals. 2. Simply hoping can make gardening dreams come true. 3. I hold onto strange items. For years. What are you holding onto? Feel free to confess it — leave a reply — below. Continue reading Three minor epiphanies of the week
The messiness that is Mother’s Day
The Mother’s Day I remember best from my childhood was when I was 8 or 9 and trying so hard to be a good daughter. I banished my mom from the kitchen and stirred up a chocolate cake mix, poured the batter into a pan, right up to the rim, placed it in the oven and soon smelled smoke. Peering through the little window, I saw … Continue reading The messiness that is Mother’s Day
Sarah Coomber 