Empty Nest

20 Reasons I’m Grateful for My Grown Child

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 … [Read more...] about 20 Reasons I’m Grateful for My Grown Child

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 … [Read more...] about The End-of-Summer Blues

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 … [Read more...] about 5 Easy (and free!) Ways to Be Happier

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 … [Read more...] about Pedaling Like Mad (and Getting Nowhere Fast)

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 … [Read more...] about When Nothing is Sure…Everything is Possible

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 … [Read more...] about Defining Moments

A High School Student and Aspiring Writer from Australia Reaches Out…

I would love to hear a few things on the prospect from a first hand-perspective, and would be thrilled to learn more about it from you. Your advice is well valued and I’m very grateful to have such wise words from someone with such first hand experience.

I will be looking forward to reading more of your wonderful articles in the future!

Best wishes,

Mikayla

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