The Blog
Waiting for the Season to Change
It’s almost the end of summer, and I don’t know about you, but I think a lot of us are ready for a change.It’s been hot. Really hot. And here in Hawaii, we just went through a weekend of hurricane watch.Thankfully, we escaped without any major damage, but plenty of people weren’t so lucky. There…
Just a Number
I’ve always liked the expression “age is just a number,” and I genuinely believe it. I’m having more fun as I get older, largely because I’ve accumulated more hobbies, more interests, and more groups of people I love spending time with. But as I added another candle to the proverbial birthday cake last week, I…
The Book I Almost Didn’t Read
Have you ever decided how you felt about something before you even gave it a chance? We often say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Ironically, that’s exactly what I did. Not because of the cover. Because of the title: I’m Glad My Mom Died. Even typing those words makes me uncomfortable. As someone…
Curiosity Before Certainty
Do you ever hear a word and suddenly it takes on a whole new meaning? That happened to me recently. Over the past few weeks, two of my daughters, in completely unrelated conversations, each used the same word to describe someone. Transactional. The first time, I nodded and moved on. The second time, I found myself…
Life is Rarely Just One Thing
Last Saturday, I sat down to watch the Wimbledon women’s final. I expected great tennis. What I didn’t expect was to find myself thinking about friendship, rivalry, courage, grief, and the quiet ways we inspire one another. By the end of the match, I wasn’t really watching tennis anymore. The Women’s final featured two young…
What We Really Lose When We Lose a Pet
Recently, a number of my friends have lost their beloved cats and dogs. Some of these pets lived 18 years. That’s a lifetime. When we think about raising children, they often live at home for about 18 years before heading off to college or building lives of their own. Many of us spend just as long…
What If You Had a Magic Wand?
If you had a magic wand, what three things would you change about your life right now? It sounds like a simple question. Almost playful. And yet, I’m always fascinated by how often people struggle to answer it. The response I hear most often? “I don’t know.” A therapist friend once said something that has…
Who Are You Becoming?
Yesterday, I noticed something blooming in my jacaranda tree. Not near the tree. In the tree. Months ago, I tucked what I assumed was a dormant orchid into the crook of the trunk after someone told me orchids often thrive when attached to trees. At the time, it looked like little more than a few leaves…
