I spent a few days on the Outer Banks last week, a gift from a friend who owns a vacation property in Nags Head. Beyond being just a fun place where you can show up pretty much anywhere as you are, the area holds a lot of sentimental value for me. It is the last […]
Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Moving a Lighthouse
Posted: 15th November 2014 by admin in BlogTags: Cape Hatteras, catharsis, challenges, courage, family, fear, healing, lighthouse, overcoming, progress, self-care
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On the Red Carpet
Posted: 11th October 2014 by admin in BlogTags: #LGBT youth, community, humor, movies
Last night, we convened the 7th annual Dare to Dream event, the major fundraiser for Youth Outlook. It was the first time in several years that there were no accidents or suicides among the youth served in this agency on which for us to reflect. Last night, we wanted to play. As usual, I drafted […]
A Dad of a Sort
Posted: 15th June 2014 by admin in BlogTags: birth order, family, Father's Day, fathers, parents
On Mother’s Day, I did a post dedicated to the mothers of a sort who were around in my life after the mom-of-a-sort who brought me into this world had to leave it. It seemed fair that on Father’s Day that I offer some commentary on the father who was around a while longer than […]
I think everyone has them occasionally. Nah, I’m not talking flat tires, nightmares, or tension headaches that could rival any spring rod you’ve got a curtain stuck to the wall with. I’m talking ah-ha moments. You know…that exact moment when the figurative lightbulb comes on and you see something about your relationship or your job […]
A Group Effort
Posted: 11th May 2014 by admin in BlogTags: family of choice, mom, Mother's Day, parenting
The title of Hillary Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village, has always appealed to me. I imagined using a take-off on that title if I were ever to write a memoir. (Little did I know!) Given some of my Catholic school adventures after the parents crossed over while I was running around the world as […]
Finding Gratitude
Posted: 31st March 2014 by admin in Blog, UncategorizedTags: brothers, death, family, gratitude, grief, healing, loss, love
A yahrzeit candle burns in the kitchen and throughout the day, I’ve pondered the intimacy of sharing the experience of someone’s death. Intimacy seems an odd word and yet nothing more suitable comes to mind. This sharing shapes me. It might shape any of us, I think…the piercing loss that dulls over time to add layers […]
Among Firsts
Posted: 10th January 2014 by admin in BlogTags: Christmas, family, family of choice, firsts, holidays, New Year, refection, transman
The mom spending the first Christmas without her son. The daughter spending the first Christmas without her mom. The mom whose son was deployed to Afghanistan at the beginning of December. The young transman whose family has disowned him after his body started to change, when it was obvious this was no longer “just a […]
Spaghettios, Spam and Other Holiday Favorites
Posted: 1st December 2013 by admin in BlogTags: cooking, culinary school, fathers, food, holiday traditions, humor, single parent
A colleague once commented that people learn a lot about family and themselves by sitting through holiday dinners, and sometimes even by sitting through just routine dinners. I ducked my head to hide a smile, thinking, “The only thing I remember learning by sitting through holiday dinners is that one of us had to learn […]
Shades of Meaning or Shady Meanings?
Posted: 17th November 2013 by admin in BlogTags: #LGBT youth, adolescent development, binary, identity, queer, self-image, self-respect
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.” ~Maya Angelou I am surrounded by an ongoing debate about words. Whether or not to, what does it mean, who can use that word, how do we write policy around using that […]
Conveniently Unconscious
Posted: 10th November 2013 by admin in BlogTags: grief, healing, loss, love
Less than a month ago, in the midst of planning for my agency’s gala, I reached out to a youth who had attended the previous year to see if she’d be able to join us again. Less than a month ago, she responded that she and her mom would be thrilled to attend. Three weeks […]