Do you feel holiday pressure starting to kick in? Do you feel the need to get everything done…on time…on budget… and with a smile? The other day my inner Scrooge started up. The to-list was growing — trees, wreathes, cards, decorations, stockings, holly, cookies, gifts. I needed to get into the spirit. Then I […]
Are you prone to nervous spells? Overthinking? Sweating not just the small stuff but, well… everything? Then like me, you may be neurotic. Over the years I’ve learned certain situations trigger the anxious, jumpy rabbit in me. Yet the good news is I’ve recently learned this fascinating coping technique…
It’s been a tough week. Just when we think we can’t take any more violence, along it comes. Like many, I find it hard not to despair. I get that scared feeling in the pit of my stomach. That’s when I remember 9 things that always give me hope…
I thought my husband Randy was crazy for getting tickets to this concert. It was Monday night. The venue was small. I’d rather be home watching Netflix. But there we sat in the third row, surrounded by other mid-lifers, raring to relive the glory days. And then Edgar Winter came out. His band started, “Keep […]
They taught you. They challenged you. They changed you. They’re the memorable teachers in your life. The other day I heard the rumble of a school bus and thought of those educators who made a difference. What made them special? What made them succeed? How did they get under that “school-sucks” barbed wire? Maybe it […]
Admit it. When you were young, you thought being in your fifties was older than time itself. You couldn’t imagine being that aged and decrepit. But then the years moved forward. And here you are. The strangest thing is you look around and realize they aren’t so bad. In fact, here are seven reasons why […]
Lots of people are changing gender these days. And I get the notion of being born in the wrong body. But it got me thinking. Would I rather be a guy? How would it feel ambling through life with better pay, more corporate and political clout, not to mention a bigger, stronger body? Would I chuck […]
You think they’re just wooden structures. Containers, made to hold people and possessions. Houses don’t have souls, I thought. Until I drove by our old home of ten years and my heart broke. This beloved, beautiful ranch had been abandoned. It was now the neighborhood eyesore, creepy and neglected with broken windows and peeling paint. […]
The other day my son Paul suggested something so disturbing, so cringe-inducing, so horrific, I had to hold onto my kitchen counter for support. “I need a new bureau. Let’s go back to Ikea.” All I could do was shake my head, repeating the word, “No.” I cannot. I will not go back to IKEA […]
I drive by our town’s carnival and feel the tug. I smell the popcorn and hear the tinny music. I see families, teenagers, and the elderly making their annual pilgrimage. Memories take me back. And that’s when I realize this event has seen me through six major life stages… The Small Child – At 5, […]
