Todd and I met in second grade. SECOND GRADE! Can you believe that? 😂 I never could have imagined back then that the little boy I met at school would become my best friend, my husband, and the person I'd share so much of my life with. Now here we are, building Skoolology together. Who would have thought? 😂 Todd is one of the funniest (not as funny as me 🤣), most generous people I know. He's creative, always coming up with ideas, and a tech wizard who can figure out just about anything. I still don't know how his brain works half the time! He makes me laugh, challenges my thinking, believes in me, and makes me want to be a better person. And I love that after all these years, we're still dreaming up new things to do together. Of course, I have some competition for his attention these days. Nick absolutely adores him! I'm pretty sure our cat thinks Todd hung the moon. Honestly, I can't blame him. ❤️ We've been through a lot of life together since second grade. Some wonderful, some hard, and plenty we never saw coming. I wouldn't trade our story for anything. Happy 60th birthday, Todd! I love you, and I'm so glad we found each other all those years ago. ❤️ Since so many of you are part of this latest adventure of ours, I thought it would be fun to celebrate him right here in Skoolology. If you have a birthday wish, a little wisdom for turning 60, or a good old-man joke, I’d love for you to leave it for Todd in the comments. 🐼❣️ I'd love for him to see a whole lot of love (and maybe a little teasing) today! 😂 And Todd, just so you know, I fully intend to keep getting us into trouble for many more years to come! 😂🐼

@Jewels Sherriff shared a fun post about birth flowers in her community, and it got me thinking! October's birth flower is the marigold. And since Todd is an October baby, that makes it his birth flower! ❤️ But here's why I love marigolds so much. Years ago, when I was working in education, I came across an article called Find Your Marigold. It was written for teachers, but the message has stayed with me. Marigolds are often planted alongside other plants because they can help protect them from certain pests and create a healthier environment for growth. The article uses that idea as a beautiful analogy for the people we surround ourselves with. Marigolds are the people who help us grow. They're the ones who encourage us, share what they've learned, celebrate our wins, and remind us what we're capable of when we're having a hard day. And I've been thinking about how much that applies to building communities, too. We all need people who make the journey a little easier. People we can think out loud with, laugh with, learn from, and lean on when things get messy. And sometimes, we get to be that marigold for someone else. ❤️ Here's the article that started it all: Find Your Marigold 🌼 A little Common Ground fun for today! 🌸 🌷 What's your birth month, and do you know your birth flower? (I had to look some of them up!) 🌼 And who's been a marigold in your life? Someone who's helped you grow, encouraged you, or simply made life a little brighter? P.S. Thank you, Jewels, for the birth flower inspiration! I had no idea your post would bring me back to an article I've loved for years! 🥰

I'm excited to share that I'll be one of the speakers at the upcoming Human Advantage Summit, hosted by @Jessica Cosci My session is called “You're Not Starting From Scratch: Turning Your Experience Into a Community-Led Business.” After more than 30 years in education, I never imagined I'd be building an online community alongside Todd. But I've discovered that so much of what we learn through our careers, our relationships, and simply living life can become the foundation for something new. That's what I'll be talking about! We'll explore how the experience you already have might help you bring people together, create something meaningful, and perhaps even build a business around it. I'll also be sharing a little about two wonderful women I've gotten to know through Skoolology and what they're discovering as they build their own communities. 💗 I'm especially grateful to Jessica for creating this opportunity to bring so many different voices and experiences together. I have a little gift prepared for summit attendees, too! 🎁 More details soon. I'm looking forward to being part of this! 🥰

Somebody get the birthday cake! We've got another Skoolology builder to celebrate today! Happy Birthday, @Yvonne Green 💜 If you've spent any time with Yvonne, you know she's got a way of making you stop, think, laugh, and sometimes admit something to yourself you weren't quite ready to admit. 😂 And she's bringing that same spirit into her community, Moving At My Own Pace. Yvonne is building a space for women who are tired of feeling overwhelmed, stretched too thin, or stuck trying to keep up with everything and everyone. It's about clearing some of the clutter, rebuilding confidence, finding your footing, and making changes that actually work for YOUR life. One of my favorite things has been watching Yvonne give herself permission to do that very same thing. She's been rethinking, rebuilding, trying new things, and discovering that she doesn't have to do things like everybody else. Yvonne, I hope this next trip around the sun brings you more laughter, more confidence, wonderful surprises, and plenty of moments when you can look around and say, "Yep, I'm doing this MY way!" Skoolology family, let's share some birthday love for Yvonne! Happy Birthday, my friend! We're so glad you're here!

I've been thinking about some of our friends here in Skoolology who are going through some difficult things right now. Health struggles, family worries, unexpected challenges... sometimes life just asks more of us than we have to give. And I wanted to take a moment to say that I see you, and I care. ❤️ We spend a lot of time here talking about building communities, making progress, and figuring out our next steps. But sometimes the most important thing we can do is take care of ourselves and the people we love. If that's where your energy needs to go right now, please let it. You don't have to keep up, explain your absence, or feel like you're falling behind. And you certainly don't have to be making progress on your community to have a place in ours. We're glad you're here because of who you are, not because of what you're building. So whether you're having a wonderful week or just doing your best to get through a difficult one, I'm sending a little extra love your way today. No need to respond. Just know you're thought of, you're appreciated, and you've got friends here. ❤️🐼