We’ve all been there. You’re in a situation that pushes all your buttons. But you don’t want to wimp out. You don’t want to be the panicked nut job of the group. This happened to me at Ireland’s Blarney Castle. What’s so hard about kissing a rock, I thought? I was to find out. No […]
Have you heard of the teacup list? Instead of the bucket list with its dramatic, “before-I-die” goals, we have the teacup list. Instead of feeling panicked you haven’t gone on that cross-country road trip or hiked Thailand or parachuted in the Gobi desert, you shrink all expectations. With this in mind, here in no particular order are the small (okay, very small) things I wish to do this summer…
Some people love to shop and God bless them. But I see a strange phenomenon in my part of Connecticut. Retail stores are closing, lots of them. And when I look at these empty storefronts, I feel this odd, misplaced sense of guilt. Am I partly responsible? You see, I never, ever, walk into stores […]
You think life is one way, but then realize its not. In fact, its different than you imagined. This happened to me recently when I had lunch with my mother who’s in her 80s. That’s when I saw I have this whole aging thing wrong and maybe even backwards. Here’s what I discovered… You […]
You know the feeling. You get comfortable in life until something pulls you out of your routine. You’re forced to stop, watch, and listen. This happened last Good Friday when my 22 year-old son Paul ended up in the emergency room. Thankfully, it wasn’t serious, but the ER couldn’t be avoided. Paul sliced his thumb […]
You think you know a place, even if you’ve never seen it. After all, you’ve watched it on television. You’ve heard the music. You’ve tasted the food at the corner restaurant. But you don’t really know a city or country until you’ve walked its streets, seen its people, and breathed its air. That’s why […]
Let’s face it. For many of us, adolescence was a bummer. We had pimples, were socially awkward, and rarely interested in school. But looking back, other parts weren’t so bad. Those years shaped and taught us in ways we could never have foreseen. Once in a while, I’ll see glimpses of that teenager, not only […]
You want to live your best life. Who doesn’t? But we don’t always know how. Australian author Bronnie Ware gives insight with her global bestseller, “The 5 Top Regrets of the Dying.” Having spent 8 years as a palliative nurse in hospice, she realized there are 5 universal regrets people with little time have… #1: “I […]
Admitting you watch an occasional Real Housewives episode is like confessing you sometimes eat an entire pepperoni pizza by yourself. It’s gross, embarrassing, and unhealthy. Yet…you can’t promise you’ll never do it again. What is it about occasionally looking into other people’s lives (even in a fake, staged way) that’s so compelling? For me, I […]
You know that feeling. You’re minding your own business when you hear or see words… interesting, seductive, tantalizing words. Someone’s speaking or maybe you read them in print. You want to hear more from this author. Maybe they have wisdom or humor or a great story. That’s when, against your better judgment, you reach for […]
