Friends
I always thought we would be friends forever, especially when we were older. Together on our path. Our circumstances or distances would not matter. Imbalances would sort themselves out. To me, friendships forged in shared work or cause were permanent. Solidified by being together through the best and worst. The beautiful and beastly. But then […]
Fall Finally
This morning fall is real. All my senses say so. Strangely, fall has a sound / not sound at my home in Houston. When the air conditioning shuts off for a long enough period that the background noises of birds and the roar of 69 and 288 are fully audible at 6:00AM. It’s a strange […]
Beginnings and Endings
Today I will begin a new chapter – and I’m looking forward to it. It has been rewarding to serve as the City of Houston’s Chief Recovery and Resilience Officer. And to work on important projects aimed at making Houston safer for everyone. The task of enhancing the resilience of this region is not […]
Working
There are days when the world is just too much to think about and I put my head down and just do the work in front of me. It’s a family trait to carry ourselves through the world as if we can outwork every problem. Our confidence comes from having done just that on so […]
What Patriotism Looks Like
Yesterday reminded me once again that people don’t protest in countries they don’t love and believe in. I saw yesterday an outpouring of love and the still alive conviction that we can do better than what’s happening right now. A still alive rejection of any form of tyranny. Americans still prefer the imperfections and utter […]
Pulling One Another to Shore
Dear Social Sector Leaders, I have stopped calling you “nonprofit” leaders because what kind of nonsense category is that? I am going to “out” you right now. Not by name. But here’s what you say over the late night calls, or after a glass of wine, or when you are so worn out you can’t […]
On Time
Dear Social Sector Leaders, I have stopped calling you “nonprofit” leaders because what kind of nonsense category is that? I am going to “out” you right now. Not by name. But here’s what you say over the late night calls, or after a glass of wine, or when you are so worn out you can’t […]
Old and Hot
Dear Social Sector Leaders, I have stopped calling you “nonprofit” leaders because what kind of nonsense category is that? I am going to “out” you right now. Not by name. But here’s what you say over the late night calls, or after a glass of wine, or when you are so worn out you can’t […]
On Gratitude
When times are tough we are often urged to be grateful for what we have. My father drove us slightly crazy with his admonishments along these lines. “There’s always someone worse off than you.” This, while true, doesn’t ease the pain a lick. Gratitude can’t be this weak ass thing that appears on one of […]
Gratitude and Grief
We’ve had a death in our family and it’s going to be a difficult day of masked up, socially distanced services. Excruciating. I post this because I know that we aren’t the only ones in this season facing losses. And practicing our faith and finding gratitude and grace even in loss. We are avoiding anger […]