Justin came downstairs yesterday morning with "Ordinary World," Duran Duran's comeback song from the '90s, stuck in his head. 🤷♀️ Only we didn't realize it was a 90's song until we looked it up. To me, one mention of Duran Duran and I'm plopped directly into the lifeguard stand at Lake of the Pines, an hour outside Sacramento, CA, Summer of 1985, coveting the head lifeguard's white convertible Karmann Ghia with an intensity that still makes sense to me. You know how that goes. One song and...
20 days ago • 4 min read
The New Jersey turnpike / fancy-schmancy rental car combo almost did me in. Nobody warned me about the tolls, Reader. And I rarely travel with cash. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson about this ... because I have STORIES. But I haven't. Apparently. I had to fish around in my wallet for my emergency stash in order to make it ten miles out of Newark. By then I had to pee. So when I saw the Walmart coming up, I pulled into the parking lot. And yet. Even the Walmart was overwhelming. It was...
27 days ago • 5 min read
At 7am Wednesday morning, I knocked on Jennifer's door in Glen Rock, New Jersey. I'd just Ubered over after a red-eye from Seattle to Newark — and that red-eye came after cleaning the cabin to get it ready for its next guests, a 2 hour drive to the ferry, a hike up to 3rd Street from the ferry dock, and a train to SeaTac. Let's just say it was a very long day, and although I'd dozed a bit on the plane, I was exhausted. Jennifer and I met via Zoom a year ago, through a professional program for...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
I’ve heard a few people banter this around, and the ones I appreciated most were: An entire bottle of mescaline (right??) or a Colonoscopy prep It was definitely not a fruffy umbrella drink or a cute little cosmo kind of year. So … before the lists and resolutions ... and drinking ... kick into high gear, I want to name something important, . Some years ask for honesty, not a scorecard. If your year involved grief, burnout, caretaking, illness, heartbreak, a deep internal shift, or collective...
4 months ago • 2 min read
As the year winds down, Reader, there’s a familiar pressure in the air. Lists.Resolutions.Highlight reels.Assessments that quietly ask: “So… what did you accomplish?” For some people, that kind of looking back feels motivating. For others — especially if this year included grief, loss, burnout, illness, heartbreak, or a deep internal shift — it can feel discouraging, incomplete … even a little cruel. Over the years, I’ve found myself needing a different way to take stock of a year. One that...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hope your holidays were filled with love and laughter, Reader. Ours was a little different … and not entirely to plan. The next generation proposed a new holiday meal plan for us this year. Instead of the usual turkey-and-fixings routine, they decided everyone should bring dishes inspired by favorite countries we’ve visited… and/or just favorite foods, or favorite holiday foods. Apparently they got tired of turkey. (I NEVER get tired of turkey … yum! But I'm always up for a little disruption...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Here we are in December, Reader … with all the seasonal gatherings, traditions, expectations, stress, and pressure. The holiday season tends to stir up a lot: old patterns, family dynamics, financial pressure, loneliness, expectations we never agreed to in the first place… and the desire to make everything perfect for everyone else. This is the time of year when cognitive dissonance ramps up. 💫 Part of you wants connection, simplicity, presence. 💫 Another part wants to “go along to get...
5 months ago • 2 min read
A quick little note to say how glad I am that you’re in my orbit, Reader. I know inboxes get flooded with buy this, buy that messages this time of year, and I never take your attention for granted. Whatever you’re up to today, I hope it’s lovely. I’ve got a couple of quirky quiches in the oven for our holiday feast — I love that my family lets me experiment on them. 😂 (Remember the time Rachel got the dessert recipe stuck to the shepherd's pie recipe!!) Happy Thanksgiving! This year’s twist:...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Much of the stress we feel during the holidays comes from doing things we don’t actually want to do, Reader. Do you agree? Trying to create the “perfect” holiday for our kids. Keeping our extended family happy. Attending events when we’d rather build a pillow fort, burrow into a good book, and shut everyone out. And sometimes the pressure sneaks up on us in ways we don’t even see… until we’re halfway through state lines with a sick cat, a bag of medication, and a story we’ll laugh about...
5 months ago • 3 min read