I come from a long line of strong women. We weren’t always recognized for it. The playing field wasn’t always fair. We weren’t always celebrated. But we’ve been quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, building, feeding, raising, organizing, creating, and trailblazing for generations. My grandmother, Frances Cermak, the woman I was named for, immigrated alone […]

There’s a bench on the Indian Rock Trail at Sanborn Skyline Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains that means the world to me. It’s a quiet place overlooking the trees – a place to rest, to reflect, and to be grateful. The little plaque on the bench reads, “Toby and Piper – Happy Trails.” It […]

Some endings arrive in silence. Others in celebration. Some sneak up on us gently, and some feel like the world cracking open. And then there are the endings that glow. Like a beach at sunset with the sky ablaze with color, the light softening around the edges, the ocean breathing in and out like a […]

There’s a quiet in the air this time of year, a kind of gentle hush that settles in, just before the world begins to shift again. The sun still shines, but softer. The evenings arrive a little earlier. There’s a scent in the breeze that wasn’t there last week, something earthy, something new. Summer hasn’t […]

There’s a term I am grateful to wear with pride: Shenanigator. It means someone who stirs up playful mischief — but always in service of joy, connection, and community. I come from a long line of them. My grandmother was one. My mother, too. And me? Well, I’ve made a career — and a calling […]

Sometimes, we go searching for light, chasing it across mountaintops, waiting for it at the edge of the ocean, tilting our faces to the sky. But other times, the light finds us in the stillness, in the quiet, in the unexpected shimmer across a lake that wasn’t even trying to shine. That’s the kind of […]

There is a grateful hush that settles over the world just before dawn. It’s a softness so profound it feels like the sky is holding its breath. And if you happen to be standing outside during the Perseid Meteor Shower, you might witness a miracle: a streak of light, sudden and silent, cutting through the […]

Sometimes you round a bend in the road, or pause mid-trail, and the world suddenly opens before you. Mountains rise with silent grandeur. Clouds billow and float like prayers. Water holds the reflection of sky and stone. And for a moment, you are utterly still, because the view before you isn’t just beautiful. It’s majestic. […]

There is something wondrous that fills me with gratitude upon seeing a field of wild lupine in full bloom. These tall, joyful flowers seem to rise out of the earth in celebration, as if nature herself has thrown her arms open in delight. There’s no pruning, no fertilizing, no manicuring, no planning. Just wildness, order, […]

I am deeply grateful for this old black-and-white photo – worn at the corners, soft with age. It’s a kindergarten class picture from Addison Elementary School in Palo Alto, California. These little girls are me and my best friend, Debby. We were just two five-year-olds unaware that we’d just begun a lifelong friendship. Today, I’m […]

In the rush of everyday life, we often forget that simply being here is a miracle. Our breath, our beating hearts, the rhythm of waking up each day – all of these are astonishing gifts, even when life feels overwhelming or uncertain. Today’s message of gratitude is a simple but profound one: Thank you for […]

There is a moment, sometimes fleeting and sometimes full, when everything slows. The air seems to hush. The thoughts that usually clamor for attention soften and drift. There is no urgency, no plan, no past or future to manage. Just presence. Just breath. Just now. This is the still point T.S. Eliot described. It’s not […]

In our house in the Santa Cruz Mountains, surrounded by wildness, forest, and fog, there’s an inner sanctuary where a very different kind of energy lives. It purrs. It prowls. It naps in sunbeams and knocks things off tables. It curls up close, demands attention, and exudes mystery. This is the kingdom of the cats. […]

There’s a softness to summer evenings that feels like an embrace. It’s not just the warmth in the air or the long light stretching across the landscape. It’s something quieter, more internal. A slowing down. A chance to take a breath before the day ends. A golden pause. I often find myself watching the light […]

There are some companions who never use words, and yet they understand everything. Toby and Piper were those companions for me. For fifteen years, they hiked beside me every morning on the mountain trails behind our home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Loyal, joyful, and deeply attuned to the rhythms of nature and my own […]

Sometimes, the world crashes in… literally. Sometimes, it’s not just one hard thing, but a wave of them: one after another, before you’ve even had a chance to catch your breath. That’s what the past few weeks have felt like for me. A summer that began with warm sunshine and hopeful plans has suddenly become […]

Celebrating the Magic of Shared Vision Gratitude sometimes arrives like a lightning strike — sudden, clear, illuminating. That’s how I felt working side-by-side with Chieri Abe, a brilliant 21-year-old Menlo College senior, on our article Navigating the Tech Job Market in 2025: A Five-Decade Perspective. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7335681674443137024/ What began as a simple cross-generational conversation – a […]

A Celebration of Summer’s Warm Embrace There’s a moment in deep summer, usually mid-July, when the world just glows. Flowers burst with color, the days stretch long into golden evenings, and a kind of timelessness washes over everything. You can feel it in your bones: a slow, sweet permission to exhale. To notice. To smile […]

There are people whose lives create ripples far beyond their time on Earth. Nelson Mandela is one of those souls. He walked through fire and emerged not burned, but tempered, with dignity, compassion, and the unwavering belief in the power of forgiveness. On this Nelson Mandela International Day, I pause to reflect with deep gratitude […]

Too Much of a Good Thing If you’ve ever opened a drawer and been greeted by a tangle of mismatched socks, you’re not alone. Somehow, they multiply. That stack is a reminder of children growing up, laundry cycles interrupted, and the slow march of seasons. But beyond the humor and the head-scratching, that sock pile […]