Lisa M. Kelsey, MFT

03/24/2026

Reflections Day 1892: 3 years ago today I lost someone very important to me, my godmother and my cousin Denise Reynolds. When we received that call we were in absolute shock. As I'm writing this I am getting the chills and teary. Denise was dealing with many medical issues, but by no means was it nearing the end of her time with us. We thought the call was about my aunt who was nearing the end. For hours that day we just couldn't believe it and sometimes I still can't believe it. I want to text her or call her and I can't. Denise was and will always be such a very special person to me. She was my godmother and made sure I felt and knew how important that role was for her and how important I was to her. She was also an important part of my daughter's life, always there for both of us. There are so many memories that I will always cherish with her. She took me to my first concert Chicago when I was 13. We went on trips to celebrate milestones to Reno, Vegas, and Napa. We had a huge bunco party for her 50th at her mom's so much fun. For her 60th I took her Las Vegas and we found a new slot machine called the Dragon Spin, so much fun, saw Boyz to Men and even the magic of Chriss Angel. We celebrated her 65th birthday in Napa and surprised her with decorations. My mom and I always made sure she felt special and loved. The family came together December 2022 for what would be her last Christmas. I am so happy we were all together. It filled all of our hearts that day. She would have been 70 this year on June 3rd. Denise know you were always valued, appreciated and loved and are missed every day.

03/01/2026

Reflections Day 1891: Today is March 1, 2026 and 10 years ago today we lost my dad. That morning when I found out he was being taken to the hospital I thought it would be a set back, not a permanent ending. As I sit and write this reflection I remember everything that happened prior to calling my mom and after being at the hospital. It was such a shock and so unexpected. Even after the doctor told us, my mom, my brother and I just looked at each other thinking this is not possible. They took us to his room and we all looked at him and hugged him. We stayed in that room as long as we could as he was being cremated and we would never see him again. It was so hard to leave that room. So grateful to the family that came while we were still in the room, all of us were in shock. Thankful to our neighbors that stayed at the hospital in the waiting room to support us. So thankful to my brother who stayed until the very end and walked him out in the black bag. My chest tightens as I remember it all. We all went back to my mom's house after and were still in shock. How did this happen? My dad was tired from all he had been through but now he was gone and not with us here on earth. Each year on this day we celebrate him. On his birthday we celebrate him. On my parents anniversary we celebrate him. Not a day goes by that we don't think about him, miss him and love him. My heart warms as I think of every memory, every moment and everything we had with him. He was the best husband to my mom, the best father to my brother and I, and the best Papa to my daughter and to my niece. He was the best uncle to his nieces and nephews, considered the very fun uncle. He was a good friend and a good man. He is missed by so many. Just the other day I was at friends house that I've know since we were 5 years old and our dad's were great friends. We reminisced about all they used to enjoy: pool, tennis, ping pong. I've shared before that I feel my dad's presence and this week a few times I saw hummingbirds and dad I knew you were with me. I am so lucky to have had you as my dad, love you.

02/15/2026

Reflections Day 1890: Valentine's Day has always been one of the harder holidays for me to celebrate. I'd always imagined celebrating it with a partner, boyfriend or even husband. Instead Valentine's has been special when I've received acts of kindness and love or given acts of kindness or love. There are many special Valentine's days that stand out to me. First one was years ago when I lived in Millbrae, two of my friends had flower arrangements sent to work, and when I got home my dad had surprised me and left roses at my apartment. All of the flowers were so special and definite acts of kindness. My favorite thing to do once my daughter was born was make Valentine's treats and handmade items for her class. We did heart rice krispy treats, bookmarks, picture frames with hearts on them, heart crayons, and even a heart that hung in the window that was sparkly, such great memories and moments in time. Another memorable Valentine's was when my daughter and her dad got me a beautiful heart necklace. The last one was in high school my brother left a rose on my pillow as he knew I didn't have a Valentine, and he wanted me to know I was loved, oh so special. This morning I received a few unexpected and special acts of kindness. My brother drove over and brought both my mom and I flowers and beautiful cards. That act of kindness and his card almost brought me to tears. He also dropped off some treats from my mom, a shortbread chocolate chip cookie and chocolates, her card arrived just in time to open it, also such kind words that also almost got me teary. Our neighbor growing up also dropped off a beautiful card with kind words and a Starbuck's gift card. On my walk this morning my next door neighbor stopped me to give me some chocolates, so thoughtful and kind. The thoughtfulness and kindness from all 4 people meant so much and made this Valentine's day special. Focusing on the here and now and taking in kindness and love is what it is all about. So grateful to have the people in my life that show me kindness and love.

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12/31/2025

Reflections Day 1889: Well tonight we say goodbye to 2025 and tomorrow or at midnight we welcome 2026. I have to say this has been one of the hardest years to date and one of the years I have learned the most. There has been so much loss and there has been growth. There has been suffering and there has been joy. There has been tears and there has been smiles. There has been shock and there has been calmness. There has been reactive behaviors and there has been proactive behaviors. There has been trauma and there has been healing. There have been attacks and there have been no response or reaction. There has been abuse and there has been healing. There has been anger and there has been understanding. There has been pain and heartache and there has been healing. There has been behaviors and choices that have led to my heart breaking and there has been love for myself. There has been being involved and active to stepping back and letting it play out (so hard). There has been following my intuition and stepping in when I have to or need to. There has been learning. There has been reflection. There have been days where it was hard to function and yet I knew I had to go through them. There have been trips that have brought so much joy and fun. There has been living. There have been time with friends and family, so important to me. There has been being myself no matter what is thrown at me. I have been loving, kind, supportive, caring, generous and genuine and no matter what has happened this year, this is who I am and this is who I will be. I hope 2026 brings the opportunity to listen, to be able to share and be heard, to work through what has happened, to heal, to rebuild and to love. I hope 2026 brings to you each all you are wanting and needing. I’ve manifested all I can hope for and I hope you do too.

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12/10/2025

Reflections Day 1888: The day started with a brrrrr at 28 degrees, our coldest of all days. Our plan was to walk to Central Park and get a ride in the pedi cab. We had seen Central Park on our first day but this was an opportunity to see all of the famous spots in the park, especially the ones tied to many movies. The fountain and steps were gorgeous and just riding through to see each spot was nice. I didn't know about the memorial for John Lennon that Yoko had sent up to honor him, we passed by that too. Next up we were going to head to a few more Christmas markets, but due to the weather my friend suggested The Met as it had a Christmas display. We wandered throughout the exhibits, warmed ourselves up and saw one of the most beautiful Christmas trees with angels on it and the Nativity scene incorporated into the front of it. We saw an Egyptian exhibit and American, Armory and so much more. As we went back to see the tree again they were playing Ava Maria, I almost got a bit teary as I am always reminded of my Nannie when I hear it. I found a unique ornament of the clock at Grand Central and I'm excited to put it on my tree today. Next up was our subway ride where we found out while on the train we were heading in the wrong direction. Thank you to the first women we called her our angel that gave us directions on how to get off and get on the 4 or 5 express and go 2 stops. Then we had to find the N or R train as we wanted to see Macy's windows on 34th St. The next woman was angel 2 for us and she helped us find N or R and then lastly another woman got us to the right area to go down to the N or R. Wow was that a lot of coordination and we were so grateful for the help. We walked right up the subway stairs and Macy's was right there. Macy's windows did not disappoint, they were beautiful. We took pictures and went into Macy's to check out the shoes and boots, wow so many options. We had a little time before the Rockette's and so we had an Expresso Martini in Carnegie Diner and Cafe, it was so yum. It is the Rockette's 100th Anniversary and the show was spectacular. Every scene was choreographed and executed to perfection. To see 36 women dance in synchronization like that, I just kept saying wow. There was also a beautiful storyline with so many talented dancers and singers. The orchestra was incredible too. I loved the show from the moment it started to the very end. I got a little teary as they did Hark the Herald Angel's sing and reenacted the Nativity scene. Everyone was in awe of the whole show. The theater is gorgeous as is the architecture. On our walk to the Palace hotel we stopped in a Christmas store and there were so many cute items to look at. I got teary in there as we heard the song Snowman by Sia and then another Christmas song, it made me think of someone very special and how much I miss her. We ended the evening making it into the Palace Hotel and having a late night drink at the bar. The lobby trees were incredible in gold glory. Every time we had tried to get into the hotel we couldn't go in unless we were a guest but we found out after 8 pm you can go in. It was exciting to make it in there. A fun filled packed day of so many first and so many beautiful things to see and experience.

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12/08/2025

Reflections Day 1887: Yesterday was another fabulous day in New York! The Bryant Park Christmas market was so much fun to walk through and I found a to die for ring, purple of course. We took the subway and made our way there, yay to my friend for her navigation skills. Next up was the subway to Brooklyn for Grimaldi’s pizza. We made it there easily and saw some cool sites especially the Brooklyn bridge. The pizza was to die for and the old building was gorgeous. We explored Brooklyn and then took on the wind as we walked back across the Brooklyn bridge. It was just starting to get dark and the lights on the bridge as well as the city scape were breathtaking. Next up was Times Square, and the trifecta of Christmas trees. First we saw the Wall Street tree across from the Stock market, gorgeous. Next up was the famous Rockefeller tree, also gorgeous. Last up was the Lotte tree and accompanying trees in their courtyard and lobby, gorgeous. Each and every tree had its own special nature and each were magical in their own way. We visited the oldest and first church of New York. The stained glass panels were so pretty especially at night. The Lotte hotel lobby was cozy and a great place to rest in between our site seeing. We ended the night in front of Radio City Music Hall and the decorations around there. Last but not least we finished our pizza in the rooftop lounge at our hotel. Another great day. Can’t wait I head out today.

12/07/2025

Reflections Day 1886: Our first day in New York was magical from start to finish. We hit the ground running at 8 am and didn’t stop until 12:40 am this morning. First time taking the Long Island train to get to our hotel, we made it yay! Every tree and decoration were so beautiful. Walking on 5th Ave seeing Saks and all its windows decorated to Central Park oh so beautiful. We saw so many animals (birds, squirrels, cute dogs) as we walked through the park. The biggest surprise was when I saw a flutter of orangish red and it was a red cardinal, I was blown away, first time seeing one. Stopping in the French building to look at their trees and The Palace Hotel with their gorgeous trees in red. St. Patricks Cathedrals architecture and holiday decorations were grand and it was so peaceful in there. We tried to get into The Plaza hotel but without being a guest there you cant enter, maybe next time we have to stay there. We passed the Rockefeller tree, can’t wait to see it in its glory tonight. We hit Times Square, walked by Bryant Park. We had lunch at Juniors, had the pastrami sandwich and of course their famous Cheesecake. There were several signs throughout the day of animals, hearts, names like Gabriel, Josephine and Julian that meant something to me or to my friend, pure magic and meant to be. Then it was nap time and getting ready for the night. We went to the public library right before closing and their tree was one of our favorites, so beautiful. We walked to 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar to have a drink and enjoy the views. We ended up staying for hours enjoying the music downstairs, maybe a few more drinks and actually starting up the crowd in dancing, so much fun. Night ended with a snack and off to bed. My friend just shared that New York is a feeling and not just a place and wow is she right. I’ve wanted to come for years to New York for Christmas and here we are, yay us. Can’t wait to see what today will bring!

12/05/2025

Reflections Day 1885: Thank you to everyone who reached out today to wish me a happy birthday! Your kind words and well wishes meant so much. My day started out with a nice walk on the block listening to some Bob Marley! Next up I had a great hot stone and CBD butter massage. Those hot stones make all the difference. I then had a great facial. The esthetician made my day when she thought I was her age of 44, I was so happy. Super nice to pamper myself. Thank you to my coworker that suggested taking the day off from work on your birthday many years ago, it is a great tradition. Next up Genentech threw a Casino Ho Ho today in my honor lol, it’s like they knew it was my birthday and how much I like to get my gamble on. It was so much fun with my friend, coworker and fellow casino fan. We played blackjack, roulette, 3 card poker, Texas Holdem. The top 4 winners were to receive a $500 donation to their favorite charity. We had so much fun playing and the prizes were going to go to a great cause, way to go Genentech and thanks for setting it up for my birthday, yay! Ended the day with a birthday dinner with my mom and my brother who are my ride or die. Thank you to them for always being in my corner. I can’t let today go by without also sending a big hug to my Nannie up in heaven. It was 34 years ago she passed away on my birthday. So grateful for every moment we had together love you! This is 52!

11/25/2025

Reflections Day 1884: This week caught up with me yesterday morning and today. One year ago something so hard happened and my body and my mind reminded me of it yesterday and today. I didn't want to get up and do my walk. I didn't want to go to the gym, and this morning I didn't want to go on my walk. My body was remembering how awful the beginning of the Thanksgiving week was last year. I logically knew it would be a hard week as it was coming, but wow the hit to my body, to my mind and my motivation is really hard. I have to be kind to myself and do what feels right. I went on my walk yesterday and the movement helped. I cancelled the gym yesterday and that felt right. This morning I barely got out for short walk and it was hard. It is so important to pay attention to what our body is telling us and honor it if we can. I am going to give myself grace, compassion, kindness and permission to do what feels right for me in the moment. For those that know me well, the holidays are one of my absolute favorite times of the year. There is a part of me that is loving having my decorations up and enjoying them every day. There is also a part of me that is struggling. Both of these are happening at the same time and it's ok. I am going to embrace both and navigate each day as it comes.

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11/18/2025

Reflections Day 1883: Tonight my mom and I decorated my Christmas tree, thanks Mom. This was kind of a big deal for me as last year I didn't decorate my tree. That was the first year ever of not decorating my tree. It was too hard to and yet so sad to see it undecorated. My friend was going to help me decorate, my mom offered, even my niece offered but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. This year I knew I couldn't let that happen and I was ready to decorate it. My favorite part of decorating the tree is reminiscing about every ornament. They each have a story, from the person that gave it to me, to the place I bought it from, and to what it reminds me of. It has been forever since my mom helped and she too was enjoying seeing all of the ornaments. She has given me so many ornaments and also given my daughter so many ornaments. There was one party foul where I broke an ornament, my mom was relieved it wasn't her as so many of them are breakable. We also had another funny moment where my mom commented on the state of my tissue paper and how some of the pieces were barely staying together and we were laughing so hard and I had to run to the bathroom to not have an accident lol. It reminded us of so many of those funny moments at my aunt's house on game nights, miss you Auntie Gilda. I hung a heart that my cousin gave us to be from my cousin/godmother that passed away. I hung a guitar that reminded me of my dad. I hung all the ornaments that my daughter made growing up and all the ornaments she and I made together. I hung ornaments that friends had made for me. I hung all the ornaments from our travels. My whole house is now decorated and all the decorations are so special to me and they too have a story as well. The holiday's are a special time and putting up the decorations are a big tradition in my family. Almost every nook has some sort of decoration, including the kitchen and bathroom. Last spot to decorate is outside, hope to finish this weekend. I couldn't have done this without my mom, love you mom, and love that you always have my back.

11/06/2025

Reflections Day 1882: Last night while driving to Kohl's to complete a return my car wasn't fully accelerating on the El Camino. I am so grateful I was able to pull into the Kohl's parking lot safely and park. I went into Kohl's to do my return and came back out to my car hopeful it was just a momentary weird thing. My car started up and I was on my way home on the El Camino and all seemed ok until right before the intersection of McClelland Drive and the El Camino where again I couldn't accelerate, and was able to pull over to park right before the intersection and the car stalled. I called AAA and they now have you pinpoint your location on your cell phone, well that wasn't working so I hung up. I called AAA again and asked to speak to someone live and at the same time I tried to start my car again and was almost across the intersection and the car stalled again and now I was blocking the far right lane. I have never had anything like this happen in my life and all 3 of these occurrences were so scary and now I am blocking the lane on the El Camino OMG. They put my tow as a priority and someone arrived about 10-15 minutes later. He had me start my car and I was low on fuel so he thought it might be no gas. I was so embarrassed as this happened many years ago right by my daughter's school St. Veronica's where I ran out of gas at McDonald's and 7 11. Every family drove by us and asked if we were ok. He towed me to a gas station, filled the tank and car started right up. He followed me home and all seemed good. Today I drove to my therapist in Burlingame, to work in SSF, to my private practice in Burlingame and I was on my way to my moms and I felt the acceleration off again, but then it recovered quickly. I got to my moms, dropped off the turkey necks for our stuffing and headed down her block. As I turned onto Dennis Drive the acceleration was off and the car died in the middle of the street. It is an awful feeling when you are stepping on the gas and the car is not moving, I was scared again, what if I can't get out of the middle of the street. I turned the car off and on again 3 times and was able to get the car up the street and make a right onto Warwick and pull over and park. My car is there now and I will tackle it first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks to my mom for picking me up and lending me her car to get myself home. Fingers crossed it is something small. I was looking for a new car last year with my daughter and we had narrowed it down to 2 gorgeous SUV's and then they didn't have all the features, colors etc we wanted. I stopped looking, however the universe may be nudging me back to looking for a new car.

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10/27/2025

Reflections Day 1881: I treasured the time this past weekend, the events I attended and the family I was with. On Friday night I attended my nieces middle school play called "Box" by Lindsay Price. She was on the communications team and handed out the programs and introduced the play. She helped everyone stay on track and led like the true Sagittarius she is. We didn't know what the play would be about, in fact my brother thought the kids had written it like we did when we were in middle school. Turned out it was about the boxes we put ourselves in, the boxes others put us in and how we navigate it all. It was so powerful and so well done. Every possible middle school issue we all had to tackle was in there. Cheers to the actors and cheers to Lindsay Prices script. My mom and I went out to try Benihana's in Foster City for dinner. I had heard mixed reviews about taste and portions and Benihana's did not disappoint. Both of our meals were to die for, tasted great and same portions as Burlingame. It brought back so many memories and fun dinners at the one in Burlingame. Glad we gave it a try. Yesterday and today I hung around the house, which isn't my usual but was nice get in walk and the gym and then to stay in my PJs and not have plans. Last night I went to Winter's Tavern in Pacifica to see my daughter sing the band Magnolia Ave perform. It was their first bar gig and they did an incredible job. I was glad to have my mom join me and my cousin and her boyfriend. Family celebrating family is what it's all about. My daughter sang 3-4 songs with the band and it was so nice to see her sharing her passion of singing with the world. The band is very talented and it was great to see her sing a few songs. At one point the crowd got really into it and moved toward the stage and were dancing. That is true testament to a band when they draw the crowd forward and get them dancing, go Magnolia Ave! Take each day as it comes and make the moments and celebrate each one.

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