Today my first-born turns 30. REALLY? That sounds like someone else is saying it... But yes, time has a way of speeding by, and they grow up so fast and all those cliches which I won't bore you with. Except... I am tempted to say that I remember, minute by minute, second by second, the moments leading to his birth and then the sights, smells, sensations and feelings at the moment of his birth...(should I add pain?)...like they were yesterday. Cliches aside, I am so grateful to Jonathan for so many reasons. For making me a mom, something I thought was far beyond my reach after many years of trying { Read More }
The End-of-Summer Blues
The end of the summer is upon us and I'm feeling blue. How did that happen so quickly? My favorite season, gone in a flash. While some reasons for my sadness are easy to pinpoint (I loathe winter), others are somewhat within my realm of understanding (read below), while still remain tough to define, floating in a space that feels so personal yet is, at times, so difficult to grasp. Summer's end used to be marked by my return to school. A new school term signaled a sudden and abrupt end to what once felt like an endless stretch of time, so confusing in its contradictions. By the end of the first { Read More }
5 Easy (and free!) Ways to Be Happier
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what makes us feel happy. Maybe it’s because it’s summer – something that always made me unequivocally happy – and right now, I’m not feeling that familiar adrenaline-fueled kind of euphoria happiness. Really, when you think about it, that’s perfectly normal, isn’t it? I mean, how can one thing – summer- erase all the other so-called stresses that enter our lives? And who is happy all the time, anyway? For one thing, there’s work. I’ve been slaving over an assignment that is keeping me up nights and taking up immeasurable hours every day. Don’t get me wrong – I’m { Read More }
Pedaling Like Mad (and Getting Nowhere Fast)
“Let’s go to spin class together, mom! There’s a new Soul Cycle that opened in Westport.” How could I resist my darling 29-year-old son’s request? I’m an empty-nester, after all, and we don’t get to spend much one-on-one time together. Jonathan was planning on visiting for the day, and what better way to kick off the morning than with some high-energy exercise? I thought back nostalgically to when he first mastered a two-wheeler, remembering the pride I felt in handing down his bright red trike to his younger brother Jeremy. I longingly thought about our bike rides through the bucolic winding { Read More }
When Nothing is Sure…Everything is Possible
Yesterday, I eavesdropped on Dame Judy Dench and Maggie Smith. “How many new lives can we have?” asked Ms. Dench. She answered her own question with the best five words I’ve heard in a long time: “As many as we’d like.” Lest you think I hang out in such royal company, I don’t. That question comes from the movie, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Have you seen it yet? I haven’t – my efforts yesterday were thwarted by some circumstances beyond my control – but I can’t wait. In preparation for sequel, Alan and I watched the original, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, on Netflix last Friday night. I { Read More }
Defining Moments
We all have defining moments. Do you think they chart the course of our lives? Yesterday, like on most other days, I startled when my alarm went off at 7:00 AM. And like on most other days, I routinely made my way to the bathroom, shuffled into the kitchen, pressed the button on my coffeemaker to brew myself my usual dose of caffeine. Stirred in the half and half. Waddled into my office. Carefully set the steaming hot cup down on my desk, where I checked my emails and scanned the news headlines. But then, just as suddenly as I’d jumped when my alarm went off, I paused, and my morning’s { Read More }
Five Steps to a Healthier Meal While Dining Out
While my children were growing up, I insisted on cooking most nights. Ever the health-conscious mother, I knew that my meals would be more nutritious than takeout, even though during the busy sports and after-school activity season, the convenience of pulling into a parking lot and ordering through a microphone would have made my life so much easier (and probably would have made my boys much happier, too). And now, as the need to cook for a family fades over time, I'm experiencing - along with a too-often stab of nostalgia for those hectic, crazy, family times, - a fading interest in cooking. When I { Read More }
Saying Goodbye to All That
There are two different schools of thought regarding so-called aging. Those who say they hate it... they're also fond of saying things like: Aging is not for sissies Aging out-and-out sucks Aging is tough Aging is a @^*!% struggle. And then there are those who: Embrace Aging Celebrate Aging Recite a prayer of thanks each morning they wake up Show off Aging Say Aging beats the alternative Me? I fall somewhere in between. I can't actually decide. One day I embrace it...then, poof! It hits me right in the gut. Sometimes, I can get a bit grumpy about it. My knee aches (is that osteoarthritis or { Read More }
Do You Embrace Change?
I always thought I did. I was fond of saying things like: I need a change Life's more fun when you have new things happening all the time Things get so boring when they remain stagnant And I happen to think that over the years, I've embraced typical so-called changes pretty well. The empty nest? An opportunity for me and my husband to catch up with one another; as well as a natural progression for our sons. Losing a parent? None of us escapes death, and my father lived a good, long life. Menopause? After losing two dear friends who never made it that far, I'm lucky to be here to feel those hot { Read More }