"We resist the great temptations, but it is the little ones that eventually pull us down.” – Edith Wharton

If you’re like me, it can be hard to find opportunities to merge your “ideal” schedule with the one that life tries to hand you without your input or permission.

As you go through your day, the challenge is to make sure that your own dreams and goals are just as high up on the list as your other priorities, like family, friends and work. And it really is a challenge. But finding the balance is so worth the effort.

When I was in my early 30’s I had a young, highly spirited Golden Retriever and I learned that she needed to run in order to have any semblance of calm for the rest of the day. (That’s a picture of us before a race day.)

Last week my husband and I withdrew our son from his public school and placed him in a private school that offers “alternative, holistic and contemplative education.” At some point I think we’ll end up “unschooling” (home schooling with no imposed curriculum) as I always intended, but for now my son wants to go to school, and we’re committed to having the best possible experience. 

Just for the record, my son wanted to stay in his public school: He loved his teacher and his classmates. My husband and I spent many, many hours in the school with him, trying to identity how to make it better, but we always felt bad about it, and I just couldn’t see it getting better. After I explained my feelings, my son agreed to the switch, stating, “I think I’m going to feel better, too.”

Okay, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and write a post that literally scares the bejesus out of me. The other day, I was doing a podcast interview with Owning Pink blogger Stacey Curnow, and she asked me how it feels to write stuff like I did in my upcoming book What’s Up Down There? Questions You’d Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend, which is more about me and my vagina than you probably ever wanted to know. In this book, I write about the sexual dysfunction I suffered with my ex-husband, the HPV I contracted from my current husband, the porn my hubby and enjoy from time to time, the elective C-section I decided to have, and yes -- I write about the painful decision I had to make as an OB/GYN about whether or not to do abortions.