Daily Archive

Last night we went to an outdoor concert to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, courtesly of ArTown.  The band plays New Orleans style jazz, which is truly one of my favorite types of music.  It was a beautiful night (despite the smokey haze from the CA fires), and the three of us danced like there was no tomorrow.  Little Miss really got into the music, clapping with gusto and proclaiming, “I like that song!” after almost every song.  She was still talking about dancing at the concert when she woke up this morning.  It was definitely one of those evenings I’ll think back on later in life as one of those nights when everything was just about perfect for our little family.

On a side note, I went to the brand new Whole Foods store in Reno on my way to the concert.  I have to confess that I think I’m going to be spending a lot of money there.  It is such a nice store, with many healthy pre-made options for dinners on those nights when I just don’t have energy to cook.  I wonder if I should just start an automatic payroll deduction to the store?  With it being right around the corner from my work, this could be dangerous!

Last week, I was meeting with a corporate coach, and she was teaching me this strategy around how to convince people of a point you’re trying to make.  She called it the Five Whys.  In essence, as you prepare for the conversation, you state to yourself the change you want to make (or the stance you’re taking), and then ask yourself, “why”.  After you answer why, you ask why again, and after five times of asking yourself why to each justification, you should have gotten to the root of the issue, and should be able to present it well.

And then this week, my daughter entered the Why Stage.  It happened on Tuesday.  It was like a faucet being turned on full force.  No Whys on Monday, countless Whys on Tuesday.  So now, she’s helping me practice this strategy at home.  Except instead of Five Whys, it’s more like five thousand.

The timing was uncanny.