At VantagePoint3, we have been cultivating the art of seeing others for 23 years . Close friends know that we call this “particularizing a person.” As our lives and the communities we lead continue to re-calibrate and lean into what matters most in 2024, the importance of relationships is front and center. As a team, we have […]
My imagination is being stretched. And I would like to stretch yours. A neighbor has been coming by our property twice a year on behalf of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology researching the density of eastern bluebirds in the Upper Midwest. For many years she has not seen a single bluebird when she visits. Early […]
From my home office window, I can see the final fruit of an exceptional pumpkin patch here on the Iowa prairie. It’s not commercial quality or quantity, no state fair winners, but it has been very rewarding and lots of fun. The grandchildren, ages 3 to 6, planted the carefully purchased seeds with no rhyme […]
On the Iowa prairie where I live, the most humbling hobby I tend is as a beekeeper. This is my 6th year of beekeeping so you would think I would have a few things ironed out. But, instead, I am among the ranks of beekeepers with multiple years of loss, disappointment, hard work that nets […]
When the last of our three children left for college it was a big deal for me. I had this emotional tension vacillating between sadness and satisfaction. And truth be told, I was ready for a “break.” I had earned it, right? Within the same month that I watched our son’s earthly possessions pack up […]
I woke up early this morning because I’m worried about Heather. I’ve been reaching out to her for months. I call her my “precious one” and she calls me “her angel.” Heather was in a hard place before COVID. Then she lost her job. And her husband’s work transitioned home. Then her husband was furloughed […]