Category: Life

  • Love in the Swamp: An Anniversary Story

    Love in the Swamp: An Anniversary Story

    Rachel

    ,

    This weekend we’re celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary, and our story doesn’t look like Cinderella at the ball. It doesn’t look like Prince Charming sweeping in with a crown and a carriage, either. It looks like Shrek and Fiona — choosing each other in the swamp, laughing in the mess, and showing up with bleach… Read more

  • Desk Drawer Confessions

    Desk Drawer Confessions

    Rachel

    ,

    My friend Andrea calls them the “flopsweats”—those unpredictable, all-out betrayals of your body at the worst possible time. They’ve earned deodorant a permanent spot in my desk drawer, along with snacks, Chapstick, and an emergency cardigan for polar-bear HVAC days. None of it is glamorous, but all of it keeps me going. Tell me—what unexpected… Read more

  • Proof That We Were Here

    Proof That We Were Here

    Rachel

    I opened a vintage camera bag and found a stack of postcards and a slideshow that took a very unexpected turn. One minute: family fishing trip. The next: Helen and Otto living their best (and barest) life. This is a story about memory, mess, and the beautiful weirdness we leave behind. Read more

  • If You Can Put a Pool in a Football Stadium, You Can Do Anything

    If You Can Put a Pool in a Football Stadium, You Can Do Anything

    Rachel

    ,

    If Lucas Oil Stadium can transform from Taylor Swift’s sequins to monster truck roars… from GenCon gamers plotting galactic empires to an Olympic-sized pool shimmering under spotlights… then why do we convince ourselves we have to stay in one lane? We weren’t built for just one role, one title, or one season. Reinvention is allowed.… Read more

  • The Chumbawamba Loop: I get knocked down, but I get up again.

    The Chumbawamba Loop: I get knocked down, but I get up again.

    Rachel

    Adult life is basically Chumbawamba on repeat: fall down, get up, repeat. Only now, instead of falling down on a dance floor under a disco ball, you’re tripping over laundry baskets, unpaid bills, and the Lego someone swore they cleaned up. You get up—not to keep dancing—but to make a grocery run, call the insurance… Read more

  • Make the Splash

    Make the Splash

    Rachel

    This isn’t just about a swimsuit. It’s about the moment you decide to stop sitting out of your own life. The splash doesn’t have to be graceful. You just have to make it. Read more

  • The Gift of an Hour

    The Gift of an Hour

    Rachel

    ,

    Peace doesn’t always look like a vacation. Sometimes it looks like a nap in your car and a caramel sundae with a friend. Read more

  • More Than A Haircut

    More Than A Haircut

    Rachel

    ,

    I once cried so hard into a shampoo bowl that I looked like the “before” picture in a sinus commercial. My nose was running, my eyebrows were freshly waxed and flaming pink, and my face was blotchy enough to scare small children. And yet, my stylist Cara didn’t flinch. She didn’t rush me, didn’t try… Read more

  • Adulting Is B-A-N-A-N-A-S: Things I Thought I’d Know By Now (But Don’t)

    Adulting Is B-A-N-A-N-A-S: Things I Thought I’d Know By Now (But Don’t)

    Rachel

    I turn 44 today and still have to sing a Gwen Stefani song to spell “bananas.” Turns out, adulthood doesn’t come with a manual—just a lot of Googling, guessing, and hoping your robot vacuum (named Dua Sweepa) picks up the slack. Read more

  • The Raccoon in a Blazer: Why Scrappy Outsiders Belong in Leadership

    The Raccoon in a Blazer: Why Scrappy Outsiders Belong in Leadership

    Rachel

    , ,

    Ever feel like a raccoon in a blazer—scrappy, underestimated, and showing up in rooms you were never exactly invited into? I have. And here’s what I’ve learned about belonging, leadership, and why the world needs more raccoons at the table. Read more