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Author: Erika Petrelli
Family Communication: How to Create An Atmosphere Where Your Kids Talk to You
I’m only at the cusp of this thing, this elusive thing called “family communication”. My kids are just 5 and 8, but already—already!—I can see the need for intentional and thoughtful strategies to encourage and maintain open lines of communication. I recognize how important it is to set up a safe and open line of communication with my children now so that they can rely on it late...
Just Be
I have written a blog weekly for the past four years, and just about everything I write involves some version of convincing us to stop judging ourselves (and each other), forgiving ourselves for our imperfections, and just allowing ourselves to be fully who we are. That’s four years of saying: Hey, you! Yes, YOU! Did you know that you are amazing and awesome and unique? Can you show us a lit...
The Rest of the Story
Perhaps you remember as well as I do the Big Hair Bands that dominated the charts during the 1980s. These bands were known for their big hair, big concerts, big displays of pyrotechnics, big guitar solos, and big personalities. One of the bands that exemplified the image of the Big Hair Band was Van Halen. The stories of the antics that occurred off-stage were often as newsworthy as the music they...
The Interconnected Nature of Everything
First: Did you know that the great sequoia trees in California, known to grow to nearly 300 feet tall and have a circumference of 100 feet or more, have roots that only go as deep as three feet or so into the ground? Imagine this: a tree towering nearly three stories high, supported by roots less than three feet deep. And they endure, having the capacity to live for more than 2,000 years. How is t...
10 Tips on How Parents Can Step Into Leadership
What does it mean, as a parent, to “step into your leadership”? Beyond the stereotypical “because I’m the parent and I said so” form of leadership, how am I most effectively leading my children? What does it even mean to lead our children? Is it teaching them right from wrong? Is it telling them what to do? Is it pushing them to get good grades and achieve great thing...
Failing and How to Handle Imperfection
Sometimes you fail at work. Sometimes, it’s a loud and epic fail—like losing your company millions of dollars or insulting your biggest client or spearheading a product that flops. Those definitely suck, and sometimes cost you your job or your reputation. But sometimes… and I think more often, the failure is much quieter. Sometimes, you fail to understand the importance of an issue wit...
Just Love
I’m sitting here at my computer, with my four-year old son Dylan sitting at the table across from me. He’s on the other computer, playing Peppa Pig games. I’m supposed to be staring at my computer thinking about blog topics for the day, but instead I’m staring at him and thinking about how unbelievable he is. How smart (as he navigates the laptop like a professional, even w...
Preparation
A combination of layovers and a tight schedule recently led me to be on four planes in 24 hours. It is spring, and it is the Midwest, so weather is frequently a factor, and I was fascinated to experience two of the pilots handle a similar situation in completely different ways. Pilot One, en route to Detroit from Indianapolis, checked in when we were about 25 minutes from landing, as pilots often ...
Stress Be Gone
I had a few bonus nighttime moments recently, with the kids tucked in nice and early after a hearty weekend of family celebrations. I was excited because I was nearing the end of The Girl On The Train and wanted to finish it before leaving on yet another work trip. So I stayed up reading even though I, too, was absolutely pooped after our fun fun weekend. When I finished the book, I wearily made m...
Identity Crisis
I was a “drama kid” growing up. Happily participating in every school play offered (except for the musicals—no singing for me!) from the time I was in about third grade until the time I graduated high school. I loved it, and even declared my future career choice was to become an actress. And while we had to audition for every play, I never worried because I always got a part—not always...
When We Awaken
For some reason lately I’ve been thinking about those moments that awaken us in some way—moments that either subtly or profoundly affect the way we interact with the world. Some of those moments are earth-shattering, like the first time Loss comes up and punches you squarely in the face. (For me, that came in the form of a 7 am phone call when I was 17 years old alerting me to the death of o...
On Celebrating
Many of us are great at celebrating birthdays and special occasions—retirements and babies and promotions and graduations. We offer cards and cakes and candles and sentiments of love and appreciation. We bring flowers and balloons. We sing. We laugh. But how often do we offer a genuine celebration for the not-so-momentous occasions? The quiet moments that mark the passing of time? Celebrations don...