Hi! I'm Tara Robertson.

The kids are alright. I went out for yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) with my 4 niblings and my mom. My 13 year old niece mentioned she broke up with her girlfriend when we were in the car. I assumed she meant she had a friend breakup, but at dinner she clarified my misunderstanding. "She wasn't my friend, she was my girlfriend." She told me they were dating for a year. She mostly likes girls, but also likes boys, only if they have good abs. Her favourite lip gloss is from Sephora and it tastes like...

Hey there, I owe you all an apology. Yesterday I tried to schedule my first ad/sponsored content yesterday and it was a giant fail. I scheduled things wrong, so there was no ad, and it was confusing. More importantly, I learned some things about Superhuman as a company that are not aligned with my values. I didn't do my homework. I'm sorry and won't be running ads unless I love the product and think you will too. If anyone has contacts at Nooworks clothing or at the Chani astrology app, and...

It was Pride weekend here in Vancouver. These days the Trans March is the only event I attend. For the last 3 years my wife and I set up our camping chairs at the entrance to the park and give people freezies. Near us was the Pickles by Donation stand and the Free Haircuts stand. I love the Trans March because it's still grassroots. photo credit: Now Vancouver / Dev Banfield This fills my cup in so many ways. It's a concrete way that I can show up as a ally. Before the marchers arrive there...

If you've been here for a moment you know I believe that values are very important. When we know our values we can navigate life in ways that honour them. Our values are like a compass. I've been looking for a stock photo of a hand holding a compass that I like. Ive only found ones of white man hands holding a compass. That's not it for me. When helping my mom look for important papers, I found this compass on my dad’s desk and took this photo last night: Some of my dad's values were service,...

My dad died last Monday. He was 79. It was shocking but not unexpected. The next morning my wife and I got in the car and drove 10 hours north from Vancouver to Prince George to be with and support my mom. My biological family is complicated for me and so is my relationship with the town I grew up in. I could feel the investment I've made in my healing and growth through therapy, movement work and coaching, and it was still hard. I have the love and support of many people, and it was still...

Happy solstice! For me time is moving very quickly and also slowly. How is it almost July already? It feels like we just planted our garden and now we're eating from it. This salad was from our garden: Drunken Lady lettuce (she is frilly, droopy and unruly), greens, baby kale and nasturtium and chive flowers. Putting flowers in salad makes me feel like a fancy fairy. The garden has been A Very Good Thing in my life. The snow peas are halfway up the trellis and there some that are ready to...

What's your relationship to receiving help? For me, it's not been a strength of mine. But the last couple of years, it's been a real...growth area. One year ago my wife had endometrial cancer and had a hysterectomy. (Thankfully she didn't have to have chemo or radiation and is now cancer free.) Part of navigating her surgery was thinking about what kind of help we wanted to ask for and then navigating various generous and thoughtful offers of help. I'm much more comfortable offering help....

Last week I found myself at two very different events. At one of them I felt I was exactly where I should be and at the other one I was mumbling to myself: "what am I doing here?" It was disorienting, but by using my values as a tool to understand the match/mismatch, it all makes sense now. sample from Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture The "yes! this is exactly where I should be" feeling was teaching coaching skills to scientists at NOAA Fisheries, NASA, and the California Water...

baby radishes! omg! Thanks for filling out the poll in the last newsletter. We decided to call the garden Earthseed 653, from Octavia Butler's books with the Dewey Decimal system number for gardens. 57% of people who votes in the poll two weeks ago picked Earthseed. My friend Vanessa Richards, who is an amazing artist, facilitator and educator suggested putting the two together. My values are my compass When you live and work in alignment with your values you feel aligned. Some of my values...