let’s do a bit of bonding

On this Christmas day, I’m giving you something I enjoy getting.

Let me preface with a few tidbits from Robin Dunbar.
Of Dunbar’s number fame.

He proposed that 150 is about the limit of relatively strong relationships our brains can sustain at any one time.

Dunbar noted that this number is smaller (50-55) for other primate groups (chimps and baboons) where bonding happens mainly through grooming.

Luckily, we aren’t limited to grooming.
We have language.

Language helps us bond with more people than grooming alone ever could.

So today I’m sharing a list of things that will help you get to know me a bit better.

I love reading these lists from people I’ve subscribed to or follow and I’m hoping you do, too.

This list alone may not make me someone who, in Dunbar’s words, “you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar,” but I hope it will make us a bit closer than we were before.

Here we go…

• I was born in Toronto, moved to northern Ontario when I was 3 where we lived in a small town of about 1,000 and almost all of us were Francophone. My family moved back to Toronto when I was 13 and I still live in the greater Toronto area.
  
  
• All my schooling, including university, was done mostly in French. But I didn’t teach my children to speak French. I don’t regret it.
• Every morning I make my bed and drink a large glass of water. These simple actions are anchors for my day. Within 5 minutes of waking, I feel like I’ve accomplished something.
  
  
• My entire wardrobe – all seasons – fits in a regular (not walk-in) closet with room to spare.
  
  
• Throughout my twenties, I was a server at various restaurants where I learned more about customer service and selling than in any other job since.
  
  
• My first real job was at a very small web agency owned by a 34-year old woman who I greatly admired. She took me under her wing and gave me a ton of responsibility very quickly. I loved it.
  
  
• I freaking love mini things. Like dollhouse-sized mini. Not to collect. Just to appreciate. Little Canada is waiting for me.
  
  
• Being the parent of nearly adult children is bittersweet. I’m learning to be less involved as a mom and focusing on being their soft place to land so they can grow independently while feeling supported, not parented.
  
  
• Like many online entrepreneurs, I enrolled in Marie Forleo’s B-School. In 2011. 11 years later, I finally started my own business.
  
  
• I’m done with letting life happen to me. For the first time in my life, I’m enjoying being single. All the brainspace and time I used to dedicate to worrying about my relationships, I now use to figure out what matters and what moves I want to make.
  
  
• Helping solo online business owners to get clear on their messaging, offers, projects, partnerships, marketing, sales, and operations is something I love doing and am very good at. For myself, it’s much harder. We all need support to get out of our own heads. Unload what’s in your head with me here.
  
  
• A cozy room filled with the soft glow of warm lights feels like a hug. Whoever created those cold blue-tinged LED lights does not get me at all.
  
  
• Finding out Santa wasn’t real completely crushed me. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was devastated. It took me a long time to get over it. I’m actually not sure I ever did get over it. So I seriously considered not perpetuating the myth with my kids. But ultimately went along with it. In the end, they simply stopped believing without nearly as much upheaval as I’d experienced.