I’m a person who likes listening to the world and for many years I was ashamed of my preference for silence and invisibility. Turns out, invisibility is my superpower. I’m a person of faith but I wouldn’t say I’m a believer. But I am passionate about the need for all of us to be members of communities bound by love, and believe that if we are ever going to stop judging each other we must learn to be silent and listen.
Read MoreIt’s surprising what a girl can do with a some confidence, a good education and bottomless persistence. I’ve tried many different ways to optimize my time and talents since becoming a mother, sadly most didn’t really work out. There was even a time that I wanted to be a politician, it’s true. I ran old-fashioned campaigns, full of door knocking, face-to-face communication and personal connections. But after losing – twice - I walked away from the political game with some hard earned wisdom and a great cocktail-party story about my eleven-year old campaign manager, Zev.
Read MoreThere are days when I feel the need to escape the world I created. My home and family, the place and people who would not exist without me, had me hiding in the bathroom these past few months just for some quality “alone” time. I love the people who I’ve been locked down with since March, and I love my house almost as much. But there are days when a person needs time by herself.
Read MoreThis past year I spent my time meeting, interviewing and sharing the stories of the women working in the emerging cannabis industry who stopped following the rules around cannabis a long time ago, and are now an army transforming the world. They are leaders of this new industry who are setting the standards and crushing the misbegotten ideas around cannabis that are hurting all of us. They are mothers and caregivers and humans who have reinvented themselves by caring for others.
Read MoreWhen the 2016 election results were announced I remember telling a friend that it felt like 1938 Germany. As an American Jew to remember this time in history is personal. Jews understand the lessons of history. It’s ingrained in us through years of Hebrew School and family dinners. No one ever lets us forget. And right now, it feels that American humanity is falling prey to ancient patterns of phobia, isolation and persecution. But I’m hopeful that we can break the cycle this time.
Read More“This idea is tied to Buddhist theme of mindfulness—the practiced ability to live in the present. The life cycle of these flowers make us question why we fail to live life to the fullest, why we don’t spend time with our loved ones, and why we do not take the time to simply pay attention to the living, breathing world around us. Cherry blossom festivals are a time to regain our perspective on life, and to make a promise not to take the good things in our lives for granted.”
The Symbolism of the Cherry Blossom.
The blossoming cherry trees and the bells of North Cambridge soothe my feelings of anxiety during the late afternoons of my physical isolation. It makes me so happy that Spring is finally here, and that my very favorite month, May, can be enjoyed from my office window.
Read MoreOn the rare occasions that I leave my house these days I’ve developed a new habit before opening the front door. I close my eyes, inhale deep, and breathe. Then I put on the pink-gloves that were given to me by my recently deceased mother-in-law, leave the house my deceased father helped me purchase, and think about all the foundations of love that support me. Then I walk out, alone in the world with the belief that because I’ve been loved and am loved, I am never really alone.
Read MoreI’ve been thinking about the ways we’re tearing each other apart, and how I can do something to stop it. Our world feels broken and fraying at the seams but I don’t have the stature to change much. My life’s small and traditional, I’m a stay-at-home mom who listens to show tunes and likes quilting. But I do have this podcast so my voice has a space where I can explain how this old- fashioned thing that I do, quilting, holds the answers to some of life’s biggest questions.
Read MoreThe day Anthony Bourdain killed himself I decided it was time to rewrite the narrative of my life. Anthony was a storyteller, and so am I. He shared his perspective of this big and beautiful world with my family through his food adventures, and seemed to own the narrative of a life well lived. But he had his demons, as we all do, and when he chose to end his time with us it shocked me. It shocked me enough to worry that if I did not change the trajectory of my own narrative, my story could end like his.
Read MoreThank you for reading The Canna Mom Show blog. And, just for the record (in case my mom is reading) becoming a loud and proud cannabis advocate isn’t who I intended to be. My journey from attorney and candidate to cannabis entrepreneur, or as my father would have said from politics to pot, began as such journeys do: moving forward from disappointment and failure. But I’m nothing if not persistent. Now, after a long and circuitous route over many, many years, I am owning my new identity as a Canna Mom.
Read MoreFor almost two years I’ve been trying to find a place in the monetized world where my voice could add value. It’s been a long journey from divorce attorney to cannabis mom, and along the way I’ve been humbled. But in 2018 I decided to practice daily gratitude, and I believe that changed the trajectory of my life. If you ask me how I was open this professional transformation, I would have to admit it was only possible after I found myself alone, rejected and, a little bit, desperate.
Read MoreI haven’t always been a fan of marijuana, or what I prefer to call cannabis, but for the past few years I have invested in educating myself about this plant and why it is so different from alcohol. Turns out, it is very different. But I understand that where you’re from, and who lives near you, and how you’ve been treated by authority, and what consequences you’ve suffered for consuming cannabis, and when you came of age ,all impact your understanding of this plant. But this new industry is filled with people like me, people open to change and looking for a new start.
Read MoreI was listening to a story this weekend that made me stop what I was doing and really hear the message. This story made me laugh and cry and think. A lot, don’t you think? It was a story about the Spice Girls, a girl group with whom I am familiar but am not a big fan of. However, I may have to rethink my attitude after listening to David Montgomery’s engaging story of living in Spice World.
Read MoreCannabis has become part of my identity. Funny, but strangely true. As I enter yet another transition in my life, I wonder what my dad’s opinion would have been of The Canna Mom Show. Would he have encouraged me to dig deep into an entrepreneurial rabbit hole encouraging me with bit of hard earned wisdom. Or, more likely, knowing him, would he have gotten a good laugh.
Read MoreTennis, faith and writing, with a little bit of cannabis sprinkled on-top, was the recipe that healed me during a time when I was feeling like a big-old loser. I’m an introverted-thinker whose been in search of a community for most of my life and thought I would find that in a profession like the urban policy, politics or the law. I was wrong.
Read MoreMost of my funniest stories begin with failure, is that true for you too? But I don’t like to let failure keep me down and can usually find something amusing from every misdirected misfire. And the way I’ve learned to process what I can’t control, and don’t quite understand, is to smoke a little weed and write about it. A few years ago - after I’d finished writing several short novels and a memoir of running a political campaign - I even decided that cannabis might be helping me be a better storyteller. Which brings me to The Canna Mom Show.
Read MoreIf it’s true that each of us is exceptional, yet broken in some unique way, there’s a special role for genetics to play in understanding how cannabis works for each of us. A few weeks ago, I learned about the probable interconnection of our genes and cannabis on a webinar with David Krantz. Truthfully, I didn’t understand most of the technical explanations of how proteins and enzymes and cannabis work together, but I understood the gist of his ideas. And even if I didn’t, he summed it up nicely at the end of his talk. He concluded that the human response to cannabis is highly varied and at least partially genetic in origin. Fascinating!
Read MoreA few years ago I finished my “to do” list before I’d finished my morning coffee, then I sat by my computer and cried. Truth. Until that moment, having been a mom for over eighteen years, I hadn’t even known that was a possible achievement. Because as all moms know, there is always something that needs to get done.
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