Molly’s Been Dead for 10 Years
A Thousand Tiny Steps
My mom is moving into what has been my office for years, another Molly birthday went by without her here, I’m exhausted from a lack of support, and I’m trying to find myself through it all. So if you also don’t know what you’re doing? Hi, I’m Barb! Join the club. Key Takeaways: [0:00] I bought my house 26 years ago [2:17] We’re moving my mom into my old office and it’s a lotta work [4:20] Molly’s been dead for 10 years [5:26] There’s a shift in the air [7:45] These past 18 months I’ve had to put myself aside for others [9:38] What’s next...
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Not Ready to Step Aside
A Thousand Tiny Steps
I’ve been thinking a lot about aging… and purpose… and what it means to still matter. This is where I’m at right now. Connect with me: Transcript: This is a man with an incredibly high IQ who helped thousands of children in his years as an educator. When I called him up to thank him, he cried, and he said, it's just so nice to feel needed. My good friend David, it's like he's fighting an uphill battle all the time. And, and he remembers that aspect of himself. He is definitely still wanting to contribute to society. He was super helpful with me last...
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He Didn't Know Me
A Thousand Tiny Steps
I didn’t know what to do. This is a story about the first time I realized something wasn’t right… and how long that moment stays with you. Connect with me: Transcript: It was a sunny summer afternoon in 1979. I was wearing a gold polyester uniform. I was a waitress at Weeks Family Restaurant. It was my first actual real job, and I loved it. Interacting with people, talking to people you would never talk to. I loved the people I worked with. As I looked toward the front of the restaurant, I saw a gentleman come in and sit at the counter. So I went down to...
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Underestimated, Overlooked, and Outcast
A Thousand Tiny Steps
As I watched Colin Kaepernick’s documentary, I thought about the times in my life I felt rejected, times I felt underestimated by the men in my life, and the times I felt outcast by different groups and like I’m constantly walking a path trying to find the right one. Key Takeaways: [2:18] Colin Kaepernick's documentary: rejection is not failure, but calibration [4:09] Colin being adopted and feeling like a second choice [6:02] I feel like a second choice in many ways [8:43] What does recalibration and rejection even mean? [12:37] Trust your power, even when...
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What Street Am I On?
A Thousand Tiny Steps
I read the most wonderful piece of writing that is short, but so impactful because in five chapters it made me think through all the crap in my life that hasn’t gone well, but also to the future and what I could do with it. As I continue into March, I do so with trepidation - and perhaps, just a little hope. Key Takeaways: [1:08] Missing Gracie, keeping time, the CrossFit Open, weight gain, and my newsletter [4:47] An autobiography in five chapters [6:46] Chapter one: traumatic things that have hobbled me [7:43] Chapter two: my weight gain [9:10] Chapter three: my...
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Life Gives More Questions Than Answers
A Thousand Tiny Steps
It’s crazy to think about how many people I’ve connected with and I’ll never meet them. How many times I’ll stand in a subway, wonder if I knew a person from school, and never find out. Because life doesn’t always give us answers, but it always gives us choices. Which ones are right and wrong? Well, I’ll be here with you as I find out. Key Takeaways: [1:23] Is it about the destination or the journey? [3:17] I’m just left pondering and ruminating [6:08] The show Ripple is so reflective of my life right now [11:46] Thinking of how we’re connected to...
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Karma is Fake
A Thousand Tiny Steps
I have a lot of anxiety and resentment present in me right now and in my never ending quest to understand how I got here, I turned to something truly holy: memes. They led me where I didn’t expect, which was down a path of contemplation of what karma really means and how what I can get done in 15 minutes changes by the day. Key Takeaways: [0:39] Having a lot of anxiety right now [2:41] Toxic positivity [3:27] Americanized karma is crap [6:51] The Great Law [8:40] The Law of Creation [10:11] The Law of Humility [13:56] The Law of Personal...
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What is Family?
A Thousand Tiny Steps
As usual on nights I can’t sleep I turned on the TV and into the most amazing series on a woman’s children who are kidnapped by the father and the tension that ensues. It made me think about what a family is, how that defines us, the societal rules around it, and what role domestic violence leaves people. Key Takeaways: [0:49] The show: No One Saw Us Leave is amazing! [2:30] The patriarchy in this really struck a chord with me [5:18] Vicarious violence and second order violence [7:26] Equality is not the same thing as equity [10:10] The nuclear family and...
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Move Over Boomer! I’m a Jones.
A Thousand Tiny Steps
I finally found the term that describes me: Generation Jones. Not a Baby Boomer, but not quite Gen X either. The in-between that’s sandwiched between two generations and as I talked with my friends I realized many of them felt the same way. Key Takeaways: [0:30] So I’m technically a boomer - but I’m not [3:01] I’m a generation Jones [4:35] Biggest difference between baby boomers and gen jones [6:01] The political and technological differences [11:57] Idealists vs realists [14:07] Feeling like you don’t belong in a generation [14:53] Keeping...
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Barb (okay, Boomer) V.S. Gen Z Gracie
A Thousand Tiny Steps
One Boomer. One Gen Z. Who will prevail? In this battle of wits both generations hash out what Riz means, how to use a landline, and if crop tops were truly a move forward in fashion. It’s going to get groovy - with a little turbulence! So hold on to your seats, sit back, put your oxygen mask on first, and enjoy the episode. Key Takeaways: [2:02] How did you find info without the internet? [3:28] Slang: cap, riz, stand on business [6:32] Did you have to rewind a VHS or use a payphone? [7:39] What’s a Tamagotchi? [8:04] How did you entertain...
info_outlineThis week, I’m throwing away toxic gratitude and playing Would You Rather because we all need some fun in our lives. I contemplate knowing when vs knowing how I would die, someone seeing all of my photos or all of my texts, and so many other ponderings.
Key Takeaways:
[0:28] Throwing away toxic gratitude and playing would you rather
[3:17] See a little into the future or a lot?
[3:53] The ability to read minds or move things?
[4:25] Sing or dance to every song you hear?
[4:45] Jail or coma for 5 years?
[5:15] Chronically under or overdressed?
[5:35] Lose my sight or my memories?
[5:55] Universal respect or unlimited power?
[6:29] No internet or no air conditioning?
[7:09] Never be able to go out in the day or night?
[7:30] Personal maid or chef?
[7:46] Lead star in a movie that bombs or extra in an Oscar winning one?
[8:34] Only text in emoji or not text at all?
[8:47] Same socks or same underwear for a week?
[9:04] Sing off with Ariana Grande or Rihanna?
[9:25] Alone in a forest or a real haunted house?
[9:52] Child every year for 20 years or no kids at all?
[10:24] Gassy on a first date or your wedding night?
[10:46] Hunt for your own meat or never eat meat again?
[11:05] People spread lies about you or terrible truths?
[11:58] Best at something no one respects or average at something they do?
[12:42] Travel the world for free for a year or have $50,000?
[13:27] Mullet for a year or bald for 6 months?
[13:51] Go back to the past to see dead people or the future to meet grandkids?
[14:05] Stay physically how you are forever or financially?
[14:32] No phone for a month or no bathing for a month?
[14:52] Change the outcome of the last election or decide the next election?
[15:27] Lose the ability to read or lose the ability to speak?
[15:58] Beautiful and stupid or unattractive and smart?
[16:25] Always stuck in traffic but find the perfect parking spot or the opposite?
[16:57] Go on tour with Elton John or Cher?
[17:20] Win the lottery and spend it in a day or triple your current salary forever?
[17:52] Hear a comforting lie or an uncomfortable truth?
[18:03] Someone sees all your photos or all your texts?
[18:21] 4th of July with Taylor Swift or Christmas Eve with Mariah Carey?
[19:13] Peaceful life in a small cabin or drama filled in a mansion?
[19:35] Be invisible or fly?
[19:50] Be the leader on Earth or start another colony on another planet?
[20:11] Back to kindergarten with all my knowledge or know everything now?
[22:04] Read minds or predict the future?
[22:13] Be an unknown superhero or famous villain?
[22:48] Have a third eye or a third ear?
[23:13] Wake up naked in a forest 5 miles from home or in your underwear at work?
[23:52] Be reincarnated as a fly or just stop existing when dead?
[24:11] Close any open door or be unable to open any closed door?
[24:32] Work alongside Dwight or Homer?
[24:55] Punished for a crime you didn’t commit or credit stolen for a major accomplishment of yours?
[25:20] Celine or Eminem perform the soundtrack to your life?
[25:38] Bathe in dish water or wash dishes in bath water?
[25:50] Have your own theme park or zoo?
[26:05] Know when or how you’re going to die?
[26:21] Home with no electricity or home with no running water?
[26:43] Tea with Queen Elizabeth or beer with Prince Harry?
[27:08] Live the same day over for a year or take 3 years off your life?
[27:39] Finding balance, gratitude, and what would you rather?
Connect with Barb: