Today is day 180. The last day of school in the regular school year. One would think this day would come with celebration and satisfaction and just, I don’t know, overall over-the-moon joy. But because this is me, all it comes with is a headache. A bad one. Yesterday as the headache quickly grew more and... Continue Reading →

Travel, whether it’s just a weekend away or a 4,100-mile road trip, is one of my great loves. And whether I am alone or with my beloved husband, travel brings with it a multitude of adventure, new experiences, and sometimes craziness. As I mentioned in my last post, I went to a weekend writing workshop... Continue Reading →

Today I’ll be making my yearly pilgrimage to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. Officially known as the Omega Institite for Holistic Studies, Omega is a gathering place for curious-minded people to take all manner of incredible workshops. More than 22,000 people come to Omega annually, which is amazing considering they are only open... Continue Reading →

Last week I did something truly radical. I decided to be me. Just me. I dropped the facade of whoever it is I usually convince myself I should be and broke out my true self. I just busted out from behind the shadow of the person I was with, dropped all pretense, and said what... Continue Reading →

If I were a shoe, I’d be a Birkenstock. I first became familiar with these wondrous shoes after Bill and I went to Germany in the early 90s. As we walked around Bonn with my cousin and his wife, these shoes were everywhere. It seemed that every third pair of German legs was being transported... Continue Reading →

If I hear one more weight-loss company ad, newly svelte celebrity making the talk show circuit, or any other humanoid within earshot of me utter the ridiculous phrase, “If I can do it, you can do it!” I swear I’ll scream, yell, throw a tantrum, have a hissy fit, or maybe even do something more... Continue Reading →

“I have done it again./One year in every ten/I manage it——“ These are the opening lines of Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Lady Lazarus.” One of the most famous parts of this poem—a part Bill can actually quote—is, “Dying/Is an art, like everything else./I do it exceptionally well./I do it so it feels like hell./I do it... Continue Reading →

I have never surfed in my life. I don’t really like the water and I am not a strong swimmer. Yet here I am, straddling a chunk of fiberglass, holding on with every bit of strength I have as an invisible tow line carries me farther and farther out into the chaotic, endlessly heaving waves.... Continue Reading →