My husband recently decided to make a significant change to his diet. Since we eat most of our dinners together, I figured I would jump aboard and try it myself. It was a pretty big change for me, though, and during the day I hewed to my usual habits, which included a regrettable volume of Cheez-its crackers. Still, within a couple months my clothes were fitting looser, so I … [Read more...]

The first message in my Facebook feed this morning was from my nephew, marking himself safe in "The Violent Incident in Las Vegas" His notification linked to a news story about the latest mass shooting, this one involving a gunman opening fire from his hotel room into an open-air concert next door, killing at least 50 people and injuring hundreds of others. I closed down … [Read more...]

In the middle of an exceptionally busy week when a series of deadlines had worn me down to a nubbin, I dragged myself to a client's office to do some bookkeeping. Bookkeeping is such precise, Virgo work that I enjoy doing it now and then; it's a bit like working a crossword puzzle. In an uncertain world, there's something comforting about getting numbers to line up … [Read more...]

The radio program This American Life recently devoted an entire episode to the topic of summer camp. Most of the kids that were interviewed loved camp, its rituals, language, and most of all, the feeling of belonging. Some said they thought about camp all year long, speaking “camp language” to bewildered hometown friends. A few even grew up to become counselors at the same … [Read more...]

I’m not a good person. I mean, I’m not a bad person, exactly. But let’s face it: there’s some ugliness in here. For instance, I'm not a forgiving person. Once crossed, I never forget, and almost never forgive. I can be vengeful and harsh. For most of my life, I was able to hide that part of my personality, even from myself. But over the years, it’s taken on weight and … [Read more...]