Dear Diary, I’ve been thinking a lot about growth lately. The ways people grow. The effort required to grow. The environments where growth flourishes—and the ones where it quietly dies. I’ve found myself wondering about the relationship between personal...
Dear Diary, I don’t really know what to write about. Perhaps that’s been why I haven’t written in a while. (That’s not entirely true. There are some deeply personal and vulnerable things I could write about, but I’m not quite ready to share those just yet. Someday,...
Dear Diary— I turned 40 this week. And while I don’t suddenly feel wiser, I do feel like life has had to beat a few things into my head. Some profound. Some embarrassingly practical. Here are a few lessons from the other side of 40. Always get the damn gas. It was the...
Dear Diary— Nearly every couple that comes into my office these days—or at the very least, every wife—is familiar with the concept of the five love languages (Reminder: Quality Time, Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, and Physical Touch). And I get it. It’s...
Dear Diary— The Pull Toward Certainty It’s one thing to practice “yes, and” in a relationship (see part 1; previous entry).It’s another thing entirely to practice it in a culture that feels like it’s constantly asking us to pick a side. What I find is that most people...
Dear Diary— If I hear “yeah, but” one more time, I might lose it. From my kids. From my husband. From friends. From couples sitting across from me in my office. There is something about that phrase that instantly tightens my chest. “Yeah, but” rarely means, I’m trying...
Dear Diary— In the context of driving, it’s important to know something about me: I am absolutely horrendous at keeping a steady speed. I’m either laying on the gas because I’m rushing through life, or I’m poking along without a care in the world. As it applies to...
Dear Diary— I have a secret I’m just coming to terms with, and it’s a little embarrassing—so you have to promise to keep it. I love romance novels. Yes, those books. The ones often dismissed as cringey, unrealistic, or a guilty pleasure best enjoyed quietly. For a...
Dear Diary— My last journal entry was July 2022, so when I suggest journaling to clients, I have to take a good hard look inside. I know it helps—but sometimes it can feel like just another task added to an already full load. I’ve clearly had an on-again, off-again...
Dear Diary- I cannot get this quote out of my head— “The intimacy of marriage, more than friendship or work, makes it hard to do two different things simultaneously: to have a solid self and to connect deeply with another person.” Mind blown! I keep seeing this...
