Dear Friends, I’ve chosen to take some time off from this blog. I will be with you in spirit as I read your entries and cheer you on. I will probably be taking plenty of risks, so I hope I’ll have a lot to report when I return. But, as I wrote in my last [...]
Author Archive
My little game
I’m pondering another life change. I don’t know if it counts as a risk, but I think any change is inherently risky, so here goes: I’m thinking about closing in. Cutting back. Focusing. Minimizing. Simplifying for a while. If you know me, you know this is a ridiculous idea. I can’t resist opportunities for adventure, [...]
Hoping for Risk
Why does every call for help feel so risky? I am working up the courage to reach out to my mom’s friends, old and new, for help with her social life. What am I afraid of? I’m afraid they’ll pull away, of course. Why would they do that? Because they too are afraid . . [...]
Class is in Session
I feel like such an idiot. Brave soul that I am, I’ve ventured into new career territory this fall, and I’m already wishing I’d bought a career GPS. Or at least a map. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be teaching a university class two days a week, and two high school classes one day a week. I [...]
Letting Go, Part Deux
I have so much to learn, still. I’m fifty years old, and I’m still learning that I have control issues. I am even beginning to see my old perfectionism as a form of control: if I can do everything perfectly, then I can control how other people perceive me. I got into trouble early in [...]
Game Change
I’m going to take a big risk this fall, and change my career from performing to teaching. I might do this for three months, and I might keep doing it longer, depending on how it works out. I’m going to teach classes and coach students in my field, acting. I hope it will be deeply [...]
Being here now
I’m risking making space in my life for the present. I was inspired by Debbie Kerr’s recent post about cleaning out her closet. I have a lot of stuff in my house right now. Much of it came from the homes of my mother and mother-in-law. Their extra belongings filled our extra space, as we [...]
Road Not Taken
I was talking with a good friend recently about a decision I’d made, and speculating about what might have happened if I’d made a different choice. He said, “Hold on. Let me tell you something my brother told me.” His brother, a psychologist, has helped a lot of people through tough times. I wondered what [...]
Reporting on Risk
As I look back over the last few months I wonder which my recent risks has really paid off. Most of them have, in one way or another, but one stands out. Top of my risk list is admitting that I can’t provide everything my mother needs as she ages. She has a disease that [...]
Saying “I Can’t”
It always seems like a risk to admit that I can’t do something. Fortunately, I’m learning to take that risk more often. I recently admitted to myself that I can’t do everything I’m trying to do for my mom. It was tempting to beat myself up for being imperfect, but I knew better. The important [...]
