Renee

Showing Up

Unable to share my location- as promised to my friends back at the resort, I stuffed my newly purchased gift shop towel into a borrowed backpack and marched forward. I found myself in Maui, somewhere between Hana and Paia, about to enter into a jungle. While not visiting Hawaii alone, circumstance had it that IContinue reading “Showing Up”

What Ten Years of Marriage Has Taught Me

The perception we provide is both reality and a false sense of security. The tiny moments that we choose to share with the world encompass our truth, just not always in its entirety. This weekend, feeling the most joy I had all week, I soaked in a simple moment shared both with old and newContinue reading “What Ten Years of Marriage Has Taught Me”

With Intention

Only recently am I discovering what that even means- to really live, to authentically be with intention.

2 Children. 2 Services

As an educator, past department of health and human services intern, and residential treatment counselor, I have participated in a sizable amount of individual education program (IEP) team meetings. I am fairly fluent in teacher acronyms, and as a graduate of an educational leadership program, I’ve engaged in vigorous conversations surrounding the importance of supportingContinue reading “2 Children. 2 Services”

When Your Someday Becomes Your Every Day

Waking up long before the sun crossed the horizon is a trait I’ve become accustomed to. While working towards my undergraduate degree, after a night indulging in the two-dollar Captain Morgan special, long past ten o’clock; I was then, better at living in the moment, or at least talking myself into significantly less sleep thanContinue reading “When Your Someday Becomes Your Every Day”

What Would You Accomplish If You Began To See Yourself As Brave?

For a large part of the last ten months, I’ve spent time, not wallowing, but rather reflecting on the choice I made to become a stay-at-home mother. While never regretful of spending time with our children, or underestimating the financial privilege our family has to have this life change be an option, I have timeContinue reading “What Would You Accomplish If You Began To See Yourself As Brave?”

Revelations Rather Than Resolutions

Authenticity, while seemingly simple, is in fact a courageous and virtuous act. Authenticity, a noun to describe it’s adjective counter part, is well- something many of us are not great at. While I am sure that many of us, myself included, subscribe to the logic that we encompass the environment and individuals in which weContinue reading “Revelations Rather Than Resolutions”

Difficult Times: A Look Into One of My Hardest Moments as a Mother

Aurora, only eighteen months, is in what my sister-in-law refers to as the dumping stage. She has, for the fourth time in the last hour, emptied a drawer in our kitchen. As utensils, hot pads and one random cup are spread across our kitchen floor, I release a deep breath. Baerett, her three year oldContinue reading “Difficult Times: A Look Into One of My Hardest Moments as a Mother”

Create Systems that Support Your Family: How a Graduate School Lesson Brought Order to my Family

Strategic leadership. A term referred to frequently throughout my journey as a Cadre 38 member of Doane University’s Educational Leadership program. This term, like many others, showed up over and over- a way to have the phrase not only become a part of our vocabulary, but to embed the approach to the way in whichContinue reading “Create Systems that Support Your Family: How a Graduate School Lesson Brought Order to my Family”

Erasing Just- A View Into the Labels We Give

While listening to a recent podcast, actress Cadance Cameron-Bure discussed, or really, defended, her decision to walk away from acting and become just a mother over ten years ago. TEN YEARS LATER, she is still justifying her decision to walk away from her career. Ironically, if she had chosen to continue pursuing her professional passions,Continue reading “Erasing Just- A View Into the Labels We Give”