Life & Culture

There we were. Another contestant and I, hands embraced tight, waiting to hear whose hard work had paid off, whose “resume” had been accepted—who was the greatest. Then, it happened. My world was turned upside down, and my mirror was shattered as I heard my name called as the first . . . runner . . . up. Let’s face it. There is the winner, and then there are those who are, umm . . . losers! No, we are not all winners. There she was, the winner; there I was, the loser. Sorry little league baseball people, but not everyone gets a trophy in life. Thanks for lying to us. There I was, rejected—once again. The judges refused to accept all

“We’re going to be in the neighborhood and thought we’d drop by” are words that strike panic in the hearts of many us. “Nooooooo!” we cry inwardly as we survey our cluttered counters and toy-littered floors and dusty tabletops. Our blood pressure rises and we start to hyperventilate as we realize we cannot possibly clean to perfection before the doorbell rings. But cover our tracks – that we can do. Here are a few tried but true tricks to making a house look tidy enough to get by when guests are welcome but completely unexpected: 1. Pile it up. Scoop the toys into a pile or basket – any corner or container where they can be corralled in as little space as

The women at The Grit and Grace Project have already lived through a bunch of this “getting through life” stuff. We’ve survived, thrived, then survived and thrived again. This reality becomes glaringly obvious when we are in the midst of life’s difficulties: divorce, loss of a loved one, challenging children, losing a job, financial challenges or natural catastrophe. Sometimes the need to survive and thrive can be created by great opportunities like a new job, the birth of a child, or a move to another city. There are even those days when it’s just getting out the door having successfully eaten breakfast that we count as thriving. Through many of our stories we share much of what we’ve learned through our journey.

A girlfriend and I accompanied our daughters, Julie and Amanda, on an eighth grade class trip to Universal Studios a few years ago. We had a blast, giggling together late into the night and bravely tackling every roller coaster with the girls. On our last day, we took a final wild ride on Fire & Ice, where we had been instructed to sit on our flip-flops so we wouldn’t lose them when we went upside down. As we tumbled dizzily out of our seats with our comfy rubber sandals in hand, Julie suddenly proclaimed, “Everybody has shoes!” She had looked around and discovered most of the other riders also had been sitting on their footwear. However, her mom and I thought she

My husband and I were introduced to the world of urban gardening long before it was all the rage. Rather than trying to stay on top of the newest trend in city living, we were seeking to nurse our depleted spirits. We had hit a rough patch in life which had left us both weathered and emotionally spent. Stress was high and burn out was knocking on our door. It was a wise counselor who listened to our sad state and suggested that in order to renew our joy, we should find a life-giving hobby to share in together. As we brainstormed about activities we were interested in pursuing, oddly enough gardening ended up making the final cut. Living downtown in a