![[Raising Durham] Making Space for Joy and Fear, Gratitude and Grief](/content/images/size/w720/2025/02/Harper-Duke-Game.jpg)
Raising Durham
![[Raising Durham] Making Space for Joy and Fear, Gratitude and Grief](/content/images/size/w720/2025/02/Harper-Duke-Game.jpg)
![[Raising Durham] To Bot or Not to Bot? How AI Became My Ride or Die](/content/images/size/w720/2025/01/DALL-E-2025-01-15-16.16.22---A-vibrant-and-playful-illustration-of-a-confident-woman-in-her-late-40s-with-light-colored-hair--blonde-or-light-brown--sitting-at-a-desk--interacting.webp)
[Raising Durham] To Bot or Not to Bot? How AI Became My Ride or Die
The journey from AI skeptic to enthusiast wasn't exactly smooth sailing. As a content marketer, my first reaction was self-preservation – would these language learning models render my creative brain obsolete?
[Raising Durham] Main Character Energy: Life Beyond Your “Expiration Date”
The world is hesitant to cast women like me as the main character. Instead, we’re the wise friend, the frazzled mom, or the “frumpy” comic relief—bit players who are often sidelined or overshadowed by younger, more “marketable” women.
![[Raising Durham] How I Conquered a Lifelong Fear of Flying](/content/images/size/w720/2024/12/image2--1-.jpeg)
[Raising Durham] How I Conquered a Lifelong Fear of Flying
The birthday card read: Two plane tickets to the destination of your choice!
A fabulous 40th birthday gift that would delight anyone, right?
WRONG! My palms were clammy as I held the card in shaking hands, my heart pounding like I’d just sprinted up a flight of stairs. A
![[Raising Durham] Grounding Political Talk in Family Values](/content/images/size/w720/wordpress/2024/10/harpersign.jpg)
[Raising Durham] Grounding Political Talk in Family Values
On Nov. 7, 2020 – a perfect November day in Durham – my daughter Harper and I sat outside Mad Hatter’s in Durham, enjoying lunch in the autumn sunshine. As we finished eating, a caravan of honking cars zoomed down Main Street, filling the air with cheers and joyful shouts: the
![[Raising Durham] Teaching Children the Power of Self-Advocacy](/content/images/size/w720/wordpress/2024/10/advocate2024.png)
[Raising Durham] Teaching Children the Power of Self-Advocacy
When my daughter Harper goes to her monthly clinic appointments, she commands the situation with a level of grace and authority far beyond her years. She’ll politely tell the nurse or technician that she needs Buzzy (a small vibrating device that helps with needle pain), a video for distraction,
![[Raising Durham] A Personal Journey Through Pediatric Cancer](/content/images/size/w720/wordpress/2024/09/IMG_9234.jpg)
[Raising Durham] A Personal Journey Through Pediatric Cancer
September marks Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, serving as a poignant reminder of the profound impact childhood cancer has on families in our community and across the nation.
The statistics are sobering: approximately 15,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year. Yet despite this staggering number,