Are you getting everything you can out of this life?
A self-less, feel-good blog about love, life, and work by career coach and existential adventurer, Cliff Flamer
Squirming on the couch like a fish out of water, Hazel let out the refrain I knew was coming, the words all kids have howled out to their parents in a torturous tone:
“I’m sooooo BORED.”
Okay.
I, on the other hand, was not.
I’d just finished trimming the folia… Read more...
I got a dad who acted like a backhoe operator on Sunday mornings to scoop us up out of bed and carry us to the bathroom to brush our teeth.
I got a dad who, when he watched cartoons with us on the family room floor, laughed out loud so hard that he would buckle over with an elbow … Read more...
I had a dream about my grandpa last night.
(In line with how most dreams go, it was weird.)
We were in Chicago. No idea how I knew that.
We passed a mini golf course, and I commented on how cool it looked.
“That’s the golf course I saw on TV. It has the longest putt in th… Read more...
“You’re an artist.”
He said it as a compliment, albeit a bit surprised to see me in this way. Me, the guy writing his resume.
I was busy brainstorming job titles with him. I came up with some ideas he hadn’t thought of. But the real artistry is the fact that… Read more...
LGBTQIA is a mouthful. It takes a while to say it. It’s a commitment to go all the way through it in a conversation
And when I do (which is always), I’m not doing it to be righteous or to prove my wokeness. I’m not doing it to push my agenda or be seen as a certa… Read more...
I woke into a groggy half-sleep with a pain in my chest.
Seduced by the warmth of the covers and the elusive intoxication of drowsiness, I convinced myself that the best thing to do was to stay put and do some deep breathing.
I breathed in and out, and in my sleep-stupor, I imagine… Read more...
My parents were always so inventive with my birthdays. They were mostly at my house or in my backyard, not extravagant, no visiting Disney Princesses or anything, but they were far from average.
The first one I remember is around 4 or 5. My mom made red capes and put our names on … Read more...
I ran into one of the girls I coach in soccer. We’ll call her Sachi. It was off season and we hadn’t had practice in months, so we were both sort of openly delighted to see each other.
She was with a friend.
Sachi introduced me as her soccer coach, which made me feel al… Read more...
I remember the first time I got in trouble at school. It was in the cafeteria. Grade school. We sat at those massively long tables, 8 rows of ’em, with the teachers patrolling the edges like border collies.
I’m not sure how it started but Matty P, my best friend in the… Read more...
My daughter caught me gazing lovingly at my dry-erase board, which was covered with multi-colored to-do lists.
“I can erase the stuff that’s crossed out, if you want,” she offered in a way children often do when they’re trying to be involved in that stuff d… Read more...