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emotions

Inside Out

November 5, 2015 /
My girls thought it a stroke of genius when deciding that we should create costumes to portray that cast of Disney’s “Inside Out” for Halloween.  My dad and I are always up for a good costume and readily agreed to be part of the plot.  We stayed in character for the better part of two hours.  I played the part of “Sadness,” which is contrary to my general disposition, but given that I was better suited to “stuff my sweater” for the round character, I did my part. I snuffed out the light in my eye and ultimately channeled my
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Men of Courage

June 12, 2014 /
When I was in junior high, sleepovers with girlfriends meant sharing secrets.  Conversation was the main activity, and nothing was off limits. I could reveal my father’s alcoholism, weep over the “boyfriend” of one week who had dumped me, and angst over the upcoming student council election. It was a safe place. My entire life I have enjoyed the luxury of women friends who would listen at any hour and for as many hours as I needed to pour out my heart about everything from mean words from one husband to the impending death of another. I was never alone,
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Thanksgiving

November 21, 2012 /
Among the many gifts my mother left me was the capacity to be perpetually grateful.  When bestowed with the smallest act of kindness, she felt treated like royalty.  Someone who offered her a seat on the bus or a cup of coffee was spoken of with high esteem for days to follow. My mother’s family lost their Nebraska farm land in the Great Depression when she was ten. With her 8th grade education, she left home at 16 to work as a housekeeper.  She married and lived in and out of poverty with my alcoholic father. She bore eight children
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Dark Days

October 25, 2012 /
I stroke her hand as she lies in her blue print hospital gown, surrounded by machines and tubes and bags. It’s been five days since my friend spoke. I read her poems and prayers, talk to her about our children, and am mildly curious about my peacefulness. I long to remain near. How is it that I could be so comfortable in an intensive care room that some cannot bear to enter and that makes others watch the clock? It’s not my personality. I was drawn to be a lawyer, a speaker, a coach, and a writer. Never a nurturing
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A Potpourri of Feeling

June 28, 2012 /
Pick five (or more) from the above chart.  This is what someone going through a divorce may experience inside of an hour.  Shoot, sometimes inside of ten minutes.  The emotional roller coaster that is divorce is uniquely unpredictable and filled with several unexpected twists and turns. For the person on the ride, it is disconcerting at best.  The emotional swings from one extreme to another can make a person feel crazy.  How is it that a few minutes before a sad crying spell, two girlfriends were laughing hysterically?  Or that in the middle of mundane grocery shopping, he experiences a
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The End

June 7, 2012 /
“Can I ask you a personal question?” my client asked. I took in a breath. Answering personal questions from clients is uncomfortable because I am mindful that as an attorney, I have the power to influence my clients and their decisions. I generally keep my personal opinions and experience out of reach of clients for fear of my experience shading theirs. Just the day before, this client and I had successfully negotiated an outcome for her divorce in lieu of going to trial. We finalized negotiations an hour before our scheduled trial time. I had been supporting this client for
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