How the hell do you do that? It’s a question my husband and I have gotten frequently since 2011. That’s when we first went to live in New Orleans for two months. Since then we’ve returned to New Orleans multiple times, we have lived for a month in San Francisco, then after that in a small town in southern Long Island close…
We just celebrated 21 years of marriage John and I got married 21 years ago today. I can confidently say I love him more today than I did back then. One of the reasons I love him more is that I love me more – and that’s in part because he’s helped me grow into a happier, healthier, more loving and generous…
Where did you get your ideas about what it means to get older? Are they serving you? Too late I have this vivid memory: I’m in middle school, that time when being cool becomes so intensely important. I get a too-short haircut I hate. I worry about how long it will take to grow my hair back out, because what if…
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020 Somehow it feels like more than a year and less than a year. Amirite? What’s better and what’s worse in your life? So many people have lost work and more than 500,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. Even those of us who are healthy and employed have seen changes…
Getting clear on what you need can help you teach your loved ones what to do for you And you thought the Bernie memes were done … What is your ideal Valentine? If you watch Valentine’s Day ads, you would assume every woman is pining for roses, diamonds and a car. If they are moms in pandemic, they might actually just want…
Even though we knew a new calendar doesn’t fix anything, so many of us were looking forward to a fresh start. The occupation of the U.S. Capitol showed us the error of our ways. Are we really still only in January? Just this month, we’ve watched video of armed protesters overtaking the U.S. Capitol, read about a new more contagious…
Even if the external environment stays as troubling as it is, we can make small tweaks to improve our day-to-day lives. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear advocates for small improvements compounding over time. He calculated that if a plane takes off in Los Angeles bound for New York but it’s off course by just 3.5 degrees, it will land in Washington,…
With all the extra work of staying on top of 2020’s challenges, have you lost the time and energy for fun? Girls just wanna have fun … I bet you do, too. Just like kids, we need recess, too. When you hear “play,” do you translate that to goofing off or wasting time? Do you feel you’re just too busy for…
Do you know that adage about the frog in a pot of boiling water — the frog doesn’t notice as the temperature slowly rises until he’s eventually boiling? If you’ve been too busy just staying afloat to reflect on how your life has changed during the pandemic, maybe it’s time to take the temperature of your water. What’s better? What’s worse?…
We can get so attached to the way things are, which can mean working really hard to protect against any dangers we imagine. But who imagined the coronavirus pandemic and related recession rocking our worlds, followed by demonstrations for racial justice? Could you have planned for 2020’s many jolts to our before lives? The truth is: Life is always changing. Once…
We are here, you and I, because our mothers lived long enough to bring us into the world. And their mothers survived and their mothers before them.
We inherited the DNA of survivors.
Whatever your family suffered through, whether that’s slavery, war or the Holocaust, your bloodline was not snuffed out. The women who delivered you here endured.
I pray that our societal near-death experience gives us a shift in perspective, and that we don’t simply recover but transform through it.
Would you decide where you’re going on a road trip, drive until you get there, then just zoom on past without even getting out of the car?
Or would you take time to enjoy the destination?
Experts point to cognitive, physical and physiological benefits when families eat together.
It also just feels good to connect.
Need some inspiration or pointers to share a meal? Check this out.
Welcome to the new home of my blog, Newvine Growing! For a decade now, I’ve written about what I describe as evolution, revolution and living life intentionally.
When I was in business school, we joked that cleaning the bathroom never sounds as good as when you have an exam to study for. Usually cleaning the bathroom sounds tedious and dirty, but compared to feeling confused or overwhelmed by difficult material, scrubbing the toilet feels like safe harbor.
If you work full time, a Mayo Clinic study suggests you might lower your stress level by spending the equivalent of just one day a week doing work you find meaningful. So four days a week can still be filled with tedious meetings and administrative bureaucracy for you to feel good about your work.
It might be time to let go of my concern that the popular middle school girls won’t approve. Whose opinions do I actually value instead?
I recently celebrated my birthday with a party that featured a live blues trio and the most decadent cake I could imagine.
It represented my relationship with the Divine as well as with myself.
Lara Zielin’s book, “Author Your Life: How One Writer Changed Her Life Through the Power of Storytelling, and How Your Can, Too,” comes out Tuesday.
Giving up drinking for a month helped me see the social role we give booze, and made me feel physically better. So now what?
There’s a danger when we compare our own messy real lives with our friends’ well-curated social media lives that we’ll think we’re the only ones who spill the espresso, metaphorically.
Here’s a recap of 2018’s most popular posts about living life intentionally.
My mom planned around being the Christmas island of misfit toys. If you didn’t have a place to go or if your family left you frazzled, she’d have a snack and a beer waiting.
Happy winter solstice! For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Dec. 21 is when we get the shortest day in the sun’s light. So many people are racing to get holiday shopping done, to get to one more party, or to get to their family gathering, that it sounds like many of us are locked in a battle with…
