From Ashes to Art Shows

Getting ready for a trip to Hawaii, I was dropping off my cat Teddy at his usual “Cat Hotel” when I felt a tug on my shoelace. I looked down and a fur-ocious little gray tabby kitten was trying to take me down. “Who’s this?” I inquired. They explained that she was a rescue that someone just dropped off, leaving her to become “someone else’s problem.” I wasn’t planning on having a two-cat household, but I made a promise to her. “If you’re here when I get back, you’re coming home with me.” She was there. She became “Leilani” which...

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. They’re guilt-fueled attempts at virtue with a three-week expiration date. Unless you can make them any other day of the year, and you can commit to all the other supporting changes, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment and heartache. I rather use this time to reflect and acknowledge all the accomplishments of the year and to readjust my goals based on the lessons I’ve learned. 2022 has been a very good year for me. The main pillars of my life are steady. My work, my home, and my family are on stable ground…...

Christmases have always been a bit of a mixed bag for us. Being a time for “family” he often reminded me that I was not his “real” family… you know, his “blood”. He would often ask to spend the holidays with his aunt and half-siblings, and I totally understood, even if the reminder stung a little. I told him a number of years ago, “I may not be your father, but you are my son.” I kept reminding him that I wasn’t talking to the teenager, but rather the adult that would one day look back on this and understand....

I’m just six numbers shy of winning the lottery! While luck is not on my side when it comes to the Powerball, I feel like I’m the wealthiest person on Earth. Having a tribe of friends and family to help realize this life-long dream is priceless. Now I want to give my son everything in the world, and my pride wants me to be able to do it all on my own… but this thing, this wild dream of a gallery show in London, is a huge stretch for me. Kids aren’t cheap to begin with, and a trip to...

“Ohana means family, and family means nobody is left behind” And that means that the kid was going with me to Hawaii just three weeks into this new family. I had to explain to him that this wasn’t going to be a usual thing, that the trip had been planned for a while, and that we were very lucky to be going in the first place. We actually had to get court approval, and an agreement by his biological mother, since they had all the rights at this point. I was very excited for my new Ohana to meet my...