When I was in graduate school, I worked with preschool age children with autism. It was challenging work, but also super rewarding. One of the parents gave me the poem below for Christmas. I still have it in my bookshelf all these years later (and I am still friends with most of the parents of … Continue reading Always be a Keymaker →

Someone with the last name Slater popped up on my social media feed this week. Meta said we had one mutual friend. I reached out to that friend asking if the Slater on social media was THE Mr. Slater. He confirmed they were one in the same. Mr. Slater was somewhat of a legend at … Continue reading Mr. Slater and the writing tapes →

We completed our third and final move to our forever home last month. We knew back in January that we were definitely moving back home. More on the full story here. We found our home on Easter weekend, completely by chance, and fell in love instantly. Aidan described it as the first house since Wild … Continue reading The redneck easement →

I start every single day with what I call "pup sandwiches" and some deep breathing. Well, that isn't exactly true. My day starts with my Doodle alarm clock. At *exactly* 7am my Bailey girl gets very close to my face and breathes her hot dog breath in my face. It is much nicer than a … Continue reading Self care in menopause →

When we knew we were moving back to NC at the start of the year, I decided to get serious about my job hunting. I had been volunteering with a new nonprofit, but as the person applying for grant funding, I knew getting a salary in that role was very far into the future. So … Continue reading The weird world of nonprofits →

Bone Valley season one was voted one of the best podcasts of 2022. It definitely made my top 5 list that year. So when I heard that season two was dropping in the spring of 2025, I was ready to listen no matter the story. But the story that is being told.... wow. And I … Continue reading Everyone has feelings →

In my recent job searching, I came across the Netflix documentary Daughters of Destiny which follows five girls who attend Shanti Bhavan , a boarding school for India's most disadvantaged children in Tamil Nandu. As someone who has spent the last 14 years empowering girls to be leaders of their communities, the concept of such … Continue reading Daughters of Destiny →

For those not familiar, Match day is the day that medical students find out where they match for residency. I am sure the process is more streamlined now, but in 2001, it meant you went to an auditorium and waited until the person matching walked down to the stage, accepted an envelope and then opened … Continue reading Match day 2001 →

I was on a first round Zoom job interview today when I saw I had a missed call from my brother. He never calls, only texts, so in my gut I knew it was not good news. He was calling to let me know our dad had died. This was complicated to process because my … Continue reading My dad. It was complicated. →

We are what is known as a "house divided." In our house, the smart family members cheer for UNC, the less smart cheer for DOOK. There was even a Duke magazine article written about our family. Apparently it was one of the magazines in the husband's clinic, and patients would say "hey I saw your … Continue reading Our March Madness over the years →