Blog Posts
Four-year-old Jackson sounded like a seal barking as he called from his bedroom one wintery Sunday afternoon. I’d put him down for a nap an hour earlier and hoped sleep would curtail his cough. He was frightened and struggling to breathe. A call to our doctor: “hang up and dial 911.” The ambulance arrived in…
Read MoreThe winter sun was setting as Jay and I arrived at the tree farm to harvest our first Christmas tree as a married couple. The farm was a little more primitive than we’d expected. A fog was settling in. The next evening we were hosting a “Tree Trimming Party,” so we really needed to get…
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We dreaded the arsenic hour … 5:00-6:00 pm, the first hour that Abby was home from day care. She would melt down and become inconsolable over small things. After a series of tantrums, she would retreat to her room (or be sent into a time out) and re-emerge with a new outfit … often dressed…
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I slipped into the last empty seat in the session on “Listening Dialogues” at the Creative Problem Solving Institute Conference (CPSI 2016). I recognized the woman sitting next to me in the circle as someone I’d seen around the conference and wanted to meet. She gave me a warm, welcoming smile, and I knew I’d…
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Sixty percent probability of rain! The weather forecast threatened to ruin our evening plans to go boating with another couple. After looking at the radar and discussing the risks, the four of us crossed our fingers that the sun would prevail and loaded onto our boat. We cruised to our favorite bay and cast our…
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When my daughter, Abby, was in pre-school she used to carry on about my “pointy nose” and draw pictures of me with a “Pinocchio-like” stick nose. I admit: I have ski-jump shaped nose, but it’s never bothered me. In fact, I sort of like my nose! As parents, my husband and I would laugh at…
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Stepping onto the cobblestone streets of Vilnius, I felt like I’d entered a storybook. This charming medieval city is the home to 500,000 Lithuanians, who bustle around the tangled streets in fashion-forward attire with a sense of purpose and belonging. Doug Carter (another speaker), Claire, and I settled into our hotel and met Diana Garlytska,…
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Once upon a time … I didn’t “do” social media. But when I started Storlietelling LLC, many colleagues urged me to venture into this virtual world. For a few months, I forced myself to spend 10-20 min/day with social media. I focused on LinkedIn—customized my newsfeed, joined Discussion Groups, and commented on intriguing content. Eventually,…
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“Lost my phone!” I shrieked silently to myself, reaching for the “flight attendant” button overhead. The announcement that the doors were closing had just broadcast as I searched my belongings to find my phone. A friendly face appeared within a few minutes, asking me what I needed. I blurted out, “I left my iPhone at…
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When I was in graduate school, I worked as the Nutrition Coordinator for an Adult Fitness/Cardiac Rehab program associated with the university I attended. It was a fairly new position in the organization without a lot of structure and process in place. Bright-eyed, naïve, and optimistic, I brought forward a lot of new ideas to…
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