December 2019 - The Brick Magazine

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

Julie Palmer2019-12-14T11:28:34-05:00

Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash By Tiffany Edison It matters not if you are building your dream home, renovating your existing one, or downsizing in an effort to simplify your daily life: planning is the key to guaranteeing a successful outcome. My dad always said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” When I was younger quips like this used to annoy me; I found them simplistic and hollow. It was not until maturity set in that I began to comprehend my father’s wisdom. These days, I find myself repeating things of this nature to my children, and laughing in [...]

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACEJulie Palmer2019-12-14T11:28:34-05:00

LETTER TO MY YOUNGER SELF

Julie Palmer2019-12-14T11:29:59-05:00

Photo by Autumn Goodman on Unsplash By Stella Orange Several years ago, I decided I wanted to have a kid. We tried the natural way for a while, but when that didn’t work, we enlisted the help of doctors, science, and fertility-boosting protocols. What has struck me along this journey is that we don’t really hear stories of women who are trying to get pregnant, and what it’s really like to be in that space of expectancy and trying. Many people seem to assume it is universally “hard” or a “struggle,” but those words haven’t matched my experience. So if I could [...]

LETTER TO MY YOUNGER SELFJulie Palmer2019-12-14T11:29:59-05:00

THE ONE STEP

Julie Palmer2019-12-14T11:30:48-05:00

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash By Morella Devost In April 2001, the eagerly-awaited letter arrived. I felt awash in anxious tingles as I held the envelope in my hands: Teachers College - Columbia University. The answer it was about to reveal would shape the rest of my life. One way or another, it was a major fork in the road. A negative reply would mean I would have to apply to other counseling programs, or even reconsider my career choice. A positive reply would mean I was headed to a new life in New York City! The answer was the latter. I [...]

THE ONE STEPJulie Palmer2019-12-14T11:30:48-05:00

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Julie Palmer2019-12-14T11:33:17-05:00

Photo by Marissa Price on Unsplash By Marilyn Pellini All of life starts out with baby steps. From our first lusty cry at birth, we open our eyes to the world and all it holds. We see our mother for the first time and already know the comfort of her arms. We sense and even smell our environment. The cooing of our parents, yelps of our siblings, and even the dog’s barking fills our ears with both the familiar and a myriad of new sounds. We find our fist and scrunch it into our mouth and love our mother’s sweet milk. [...]

ONE STEP AT A TIMEJulie Palmer2019-12-14T11:33:17-05:00

MEET THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BRICK: SARAH DEW WHITSETT

Julie Palmer2019-12-01T08:36:11-05:00

By Kristen Domingue The day I met Sarah, I was part of a group of businesswomen who came together with the express purpose of growing their businesses. I was a part of the group for about a year before Sarah joined. I’m not really one for making new friends. I’ll be honest, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of seeing some of the worst sides of women in the workplace. The cattiness, the backstabbing, the microaggressions that women can display towards other women—all of that has given me surreptitious pause when it comes to professional collaborations with women. It’s painfully unfortunate to [...]

MEET THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BRICK: SARAH DEW WHITSETTJulie Palmer2019-12-01T08:36:11-05:00

THE WORLD IN A DROP OF WATER: OUR LIVES IN A MOMENT’S CHOICE

Julie Palmer2019-12-14T11:34:06-05:00

Photo from Unsplash By Theresa Reid A few months ago, we moved my husband’s 91-year-old Aunt Evelyn into a beautiful new elder living facility — a light-filled, upscale, roomy place with loads of common areas for conversation, lectures, art-making, movie-viewing, and eating. On my first visit to her there, I asked her how she liked it. She leaned in, placed her hand on my arm, and said, sotto voce, “Well, dear,” shaking her head slightly, “a lot of these people are too old.” I smiled (it’s impossible not to smile around Evelyn), and asked for more detail. “Well, you see dear, [...]

THE WORLD IN A DROP OF WATER: OUR LIVES IN A MOMENT’S CHOICEJulie Palmer2019-12-14T11:34:06-05:00