What Gets You Out of Balance?
A couple of days ago, everybody complained about the water in the pool. After a rainstorm, the pH levels of our public pool were “off.” Our eyes stung, the water felt weird, and some people complained that their bathing suits were changing color. It was strange. The pool staff adjusted the pH, but it still […]
Remember This and Mark the Day!
Yesterday my 8 year old announced she needed a diary to keep all her deep thoughts and secrets. “I’m a 3rd grader now. I have to write what happens to me in a diary,” she said. I love her instincts to mark the transition to a new phase of her life with a special gift–one […]
Some Science Behind Happiness
The more I read about the brain, the more I have to admit I sabotage my own happiness on most days. If you knew how lazy I really am, if you knew how much I detest exercise, and if you knew how my arms are really flabby noodles pretending to be arms, you’d be amazed […]
Small Town, Big World (in Pictures)
I live in a town where you can take pictures of things like newborn foals. Skipped Emotion had her little one almost a week late, and here she is just 4 days old. Today, both horses were released to the meadow. I live in a town where you can take your little girls strawberry picking […]
Waking Up Happy
Something so small, something that takes only a few minutes, made me immeasurably happy this morning. It’s a little ridiculous, really, how happy it made me. I want to wake up happy, not just for me, but for everybody else. I want to be self-aware enough to manage my moods and know what it’s going […]
What I Learned About Skin Today
Victory! I figured something out: My daughter loves to swing. More than any other activity, she loves to swing. Everyday, she asks if I can push her on the swing (she’s not good at pumping yet). And ever since I started writing the flair blog, I’ve been asking her why she loves it so much. […]
When You’re All Out of Flair
“I’m all out of flair,” I said somberly to my sister this morning. I woke up tired, cranky, and very, very uninspired. Not even more coffee helped. But I clung to one little hope, flickering like some nearly expired candle. My sister said, “There’s hope of flair. Just remember that.” And I did have hope […]
3 Ways to Love Life (According to a Young Photographer)
My five year old steals my camera whenever she can. She’s the most determined little girl when she’s setting up a shot. She’ll take pictures of anything–cats, babies, rear ends, her own feet. And it’s all equally intriguing and equally beautiful. As I found these photos other friends took of her yesterday, I couldn’t help […]
Commemorating with Milk
We couldn’t make the Memorial Day blueberry pancakes this morning because we ran out of milk. I was the one dressed already, so I volunteered to drive to the store. It was a little after 8:00 AM. It was just a trip for milk. I left my children in their pajamas and my husband hovering […]
A Short Rant (I Never Thought I’d Be Ranty)
A popular blog I read this morning suggested that one pathway to happiness is to “imitate” a spiritual master–someone like Jesus. I cringed. The not-flair bells rang. I frowned and felt the same way I do when somebody tells me to just “try harder” and I’ll find holiness. It’s just not true. Telling a person […]