Forty-five people gathered for dinner in our neighborhood last month. That’s actually not unusual. What was different this time is that every part of it was run by kids eighteen and under. They organized and planned it. They cooked. They served. The kids built a whole cafe out of nothing, and it worked — the meal was delicious, the room was full, everyone left happy. But I noticed something underneath the success. The miscommunications that happened, and there were a few, di

In college, I worked at a school-to-farm program for high schoolers who needed a different kind of education than what public schools could offer them. I was working with one student in particular who loved photography. She also tended to see the world as black and white. If she perceived something as wrong, her mindset was fixed. If someone criticized her favorite singer, she would get defensive and fight back. Her fervor was so strong it was contagious, and for a brief mom

A personal story about a tense HOA conversation, the nervous system’s pull toward being “right,” and how a clean apology and intentional repair can strengthen relationships—even when the stakes feel high.

A few months ago I shared an experience where someone commented on a post I made with oppressive rhetoric in a Facebook group to a family...