Letting go. Of anything. Is almost never easy. And, there is so much to let go of: bad habits, articles of clothing, the books on our shelves, grudges, worries, children as they grow up, loved ones that are about to die, and relationships that no longer make sense for a variety of reasons. We will do anything, go to almost any length, to preserve our memory of how those things made us feel or the…

Ben and I have been married 11 years now. While I know that’s not that long, it is plenty long enough to know what ebbs and flows feel like in a long term relationship. The flows are certainly more “fun”: we’re getting plenty of sleep, eating clean, and drinking more tea than tequila (which is arguably not more “fun”, but feels way better the next morning).  It’s also when I feel like we’re holding each…

Something I’ve been really working on with our kids is this: trying not to suppress or demonize any feelings that they experience. It’s something I never noticed in my behavior until recently. But, now that I’m making an effort to be conscious of it, I see it in my words so much.  And, something that Ben and I have worked on reminding ourselves is that so much of what we say and do will subconsciously…

Yesterday’s post got me thinking about a topic very much related to gossip: how we perceive and talk about past relationships that didn’t “end well”, be it ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, jobs we’ve left or been asked to leave, or even friendships that ended in fallouts for whatever reason. Most of us, myself included, have been involved in each of these and many other similar situations in our past. I’ve been dumped, gone through a divorce, been fired,…

Gossip. None of us think we do it, but the reality is many of us are more guilty than we would like to believe. We’ve all heard the very well put quote, “What Susie says about Sally says more about Susie than Sally.” Gossiping, even to your very best friend, about someone else sends a message to the person you’re talking about that you cannot be trusted. If you’re willing to talk poorly about someone…

I WISH I could remember where I heard or read this, but I’m statistically halfway dead  and my brain is even deader from raising so many children. I’m pretty sure I heard it from Jay Shetty, but I think he was actually quoting someone else, as well. I’m not even sure if, under these circumstances, I should put the quote in quotations because it’s obviously not exactly the way it was written. So, I’m just not.…

I am ready to write again. This whole pandemic…with the distancing, hibernating with your little squad, etc…has been very, verytransformative for me. I don’t think it’s just coincidence that over the last 6 months or so I have retreated both physically, and emotionally, from the people and places that I once relied so heavily on.  I think this whole thing has helped catapult me into a mental space that I would’ve taken 10 years to arrive…

Here’s a little game I like to play with people I love when I want them to start making better decisions or having a healthier perspective on life and they continue avoiding all of my previous, more subtle tactics. I ask them how they would feel if I were the one doing what they were. One example is with my parents and their nutrition choices, their use of alcohol, or their unwillingness to pay attention…

I’m not going to lie, I sometimes catch myself trying to “hide” things.  Sometimes it’s as trivial as snacking on tortilla chips when I hear Ben go upstairs, or sneaking a spiked seltzer in the outdoor shower with me at 4pm. Other times, it’s more like acting as if everything is fine when the truth is I’m in a bad place with Ben, or my parents, or my in-laws. Regardless of the depth and breadth…