Blog Posts

I may not have fully embraced the holiday season yet, but one thing I do love about this time of year is my newish habit of taking the...

Those of you who are aware of my historical relationship with the holidays  may be surprised to learn that, despite a year filled with...

[Those who know me well will not be surprised to hear that my mind immediately went to “moron self-forgiveness”, which made me laugh out...

Fresh from our Thanksgiving viewing of Wicked , the CWP  and I were enjoying a sort of suspended animation. We’d known since September...

This year has been the mother of all time warps. A mashup of Groundhog Day and Back to the Future. Each of the days spent visiting my mother in rehab or languishing on the couch with a fractured spine lasted at least a week. And yet wasn’t it just yesterday that a shiny new year was starting? A year that held so much promise? Not gonna lie. For me, this year has been one of the most difficult in a while and I’ll be happy to get some distance from it. We’re already back to the

In my previous life, I was the embodiment of the people-pleasing, overachieving, good girl. I obeyed, I conformed, and I sacrificed any...

I woke up on a recent Sunday morning in a local hotel, where I’d decamped to give the CWP  and her visiting friends the run of the house...

[It’s Wednesday morning and I’m reeling. Vacillating between disbelief and rage. Physically unwell. For about a nanosecond, I thought...

It’s been a bit of a heavy week here at the mermaid cottage. My attempt to lighten it up, and provide a crowd favorite, is this latest in...

“My poor mother, who was both a terrorist and a child.” Anne Lamott This perfect gem, from one of my favorite authors, so beautifully...

It’s been about two months since my withdrawal to work on some radical self-care and a major attitude adjustment. Apparently, my Spidey...

What happens when your incurable optimism results in profound disappointment? When your Herculean efforts to remain patient and positive...

As I enter my fourth week of extremely limited movement thanks to my latest gift from the Universe, my gratitude list is topped by my...

[I’d just begun reworking this older piece prior to my recent dog walking disaster. There truly are no coincidences. My enthusiastic...

It’s so easy to be positive when the metaphorical sun is shining. Or at least peeking out on the horizon. Or even when the brutal storm...

My little buddy and I were both in high spirits as we set out for a walk Sunday morning. His walks are the highlight of his days, and I...

In a typical mid-century Italian American family, introspection was not a thing. Why would you think, let alone talk, about feelings?...

This week I was remembering the short-lived experiment in which the CWP attended a private Episcopal school for third and part of fourth...

[Things have been a bit on the grim side here lately, so I’m sharing a lighter piece that I wrote a while back. I was initially hesitant...

My lists have proven to be the hands-down crowd pleaser to date, so this week I'm indulging my obsession. Five Things I Did for The First...